Thank you to all of you who have been thinking of and praying for MMH in the week since tropical storm Ana reached Malawi.

Across southern Malawi, the impact of the storm has been very severe. In the low-lying Shire valley a vast area has been flooded and until now is cut off from the rest of the country. All hydro-electricity stations in the Shire, which provide almost all of Malawi’s electricity, suffered damage resulting in extensive, ongoing blackouts.

In Mulanje, we had extremely heavy rains and flooding in the area served by the hospital and beyond, but fortunately not the extent of damage seen in the Shire valley.

Still, two casualties were reported, many latrines collapsed and crops and trees have been washed away. Roads, bridges, and watertanks for irrigation have been destroyed and many suffered injuries.

This is a stark reminder of the impact of increasingly common extreme weather events on Malawi, and the need to work towards resilience in the face of climate change.

It is reassuring that most of the improved latrines that were constructed in our area after cyclone Idai in 2019 have withstood the storm well.

We now estimate that an estimated 5000 toilets have collapsed during storm Ana. These need urgent replacement to prevent outbreaks of disease such as typhoid fever and cholera. Contaminated sources of water such as wells need improvement and a covered borehole with handpump. Such boreholes withstand heavy weather well.

Trees along riverbanks need to be replanted this rainy season to avoid even more damage to the banks and riverside gardens in future.

It will cost £30 / € 36 / US$ 41 to provide communities with materials to build a pit latrine. A covered borehole with pump is more costly at £3600 / €4250 / US$ 4800, whilst the planting of a tree on riverbanks can be done for £4 / € 4,5 / US$ 5.

Any donation, no matter how small, is welcome via all options available here.