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☆ IMF board approves $178 mln loan to Malawi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Malawian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Sosten Gwengwe speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., September 28, 2022. Kevin Wolf/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBLANTYRE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's executive board has approved a loan of about $178 million for Malawi, with an immediate disbursement of about $35 million, the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday. "The decision is a big breather for us and our economy," Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda said in a telephone interview with Reuters. The IMF programme will unlock more financial support from development partners, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said in a televised national address late on Wednesday. The World Bank could give Malawi $60 million for trade finance, a $217 million package linked to fiscal reforms and $250 million for agriculture, Chakwera said.

Persons: Sosten Gwengwe, Kevin Wolf, Banda, Lazarus Chakwera, Chakwera, Frank Phiri, Anait Miridzhanian, David Gregorio, Sandra Maler Organizations: Finance, Economic Affairs, State Department, Rights, Monetary Fund's, Malawian, Simplex, Reuters, IMF, Bank, Thomson Locations: Washington , DC, Rights BLANTYRE, Malawi

[1/5] Locals in the Chiradzulu district look at the damage on a road after mudslides and rockfalls in the area caused by the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 15, 2023. Most people heeded the warnings, knowing from bitter experience the damage such storms could inflict: 600 people had died in Cyclone Idai in 2019. The storm was far more deadly in neighbouring Malawi, where at least 447 were killed as Freddy tore through the country's southern tip and inundated the main commercial hub of Blantyre. Mozambique and Malawi are among the poorest 8% of countries in the world, according to United Nations data. In the case of Freddy, this extra energy allowed the storm to pick up strength again and circle back to strike again.

☆ Malawians fear storm Freddy could make deadliest cholera outbreak worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Eldson Chagara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I am fearful of cholera but there is no potable water and I have no option. Malawi seemed to be getting its deadliest cholera outbreak yet under control, with World Health Organization figures showing a decline in cases and deaths, but locals and health experts worry that trend could quickly reverse in Freddy's wake. [1/9] Hendry Keinga reacts after he lost a family member during the Mtauchira village mudslide in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 16, 2023. Malawi has conducted two oral cholera vaccination campaigns, but a global surge in cholera outbreaks has meant vaccines are in short supply. Another Ndirande resident, Francis Moyani, said he was determined to get the cholera vaccine as he was scared of contracting the disease.

☆ Malawians search for relatives buried under the mud as death toll jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While the storm had dissipated, rain continued to hamper rescue efforts as vehicles struggled on flooded roads. Lieutenant Colonel Dickens Kamisa, who participated in the search, said local authorities identified about eight areas where dead bodies should be buried and were using sniffer dogs to find trapped Malawians. Chifundo Chilimba, a local resident, told Reuters he could not find his family members as the depth of the mud was too deep. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said it was providing food assistance by distributing partially pre-cooked food called corn-soya blend to displaced people. The storm had already killed about 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique before it lashed Mozambique a second time.

[1/7] A drone image of Mtauchira village shows the destruction caused by a mudslide where many people lost their lives, in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 16, 2023. Tropical Cyclone Freddy has killed more than 400 people in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar since it first made landfall in Africa in late February and circled back to hit the region for a second time over the weekend. In Mozambique, some villages have been completely cut off since the cyclone made its second landfall on Saturday. At least 53 people have died in Mozambique and 326 in Malawi since the weekend, according to government figures. The storm had already killed about 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique before it lashed Mozambique a second time.

☆ Cyclone Freddy toll surpasses 300 as Mozambique counts bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MAPUTO, March 16 (Reuters) - The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Freddy has passed 300 people, with authorities in Mozambique taking several days to assess the extent of the damage and loss of life. The storm tore through southern Africa over the weekend for a second time after first making landfall in late February. It is one of the longest-lasting tropical cyclones ever recorded and one of the deadliest in Africa in recent years. At least 53 people have died in Mozambique's Zambezia province, authorities said late on Wednesday, more than doubling their previous count. The storm killed about 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique before lashing Mozambique a second time.

[1/3] Young boys carry plastic as they look for items to salvage from the Nasolo river in Ndirande township in Blantyre, Malawi March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Eldson ChagaraBLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters) - Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere. In neighbouring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency. The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. We've rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable," said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.

☆ Cyclone Freddy kills 190 in Malawi as rain complicates rescue efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Frank Phiri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Relatives of people who lost their lives in the aftermath of after Storm Freddy, search for their bodies at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital mortuary in Blantyre, Malawi March 14, 2023. Freddy has also left a trail of destruction in Mozambique, where it made landfall over the weekend. The latest death toll in Malawi is a jump from 99 reported on Monday, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs said. Freddy pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and causing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane before moving inland towards Malawi. Freddy could sweep through Zambezia province again, bringing more wind and rain.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ Storm Freddy triggers floods in Malawi, killing at least 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Frank Phiri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Alfredo Zuniga/Handout via REUTERSBLANTYRE, Malawi, March 13 (Reuters) - At least 11 people have died and 16 are missing around Malawi's second-largest city Blantyre after tropical storm Freddy brought torrential rains that triggered floods and landslides, police said on Monday. It pummelled Mozambique for the second time in a month as a cyclone over the weekend before weakening as it moved inland towards Malawi. "Some missing people are feared buried in rubble and our team is working with other cooperating national agencies," Kalaya said. Scientists say climate change is making tropical storms stronger, as oceans absorb much of the heat from greenhouse gas emissions and when warm seawater evaporates heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere.

☆ Malawi delays reopening schools as cholera cases surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Pilirani Wanja, a clinician at Ndirande Health Centre, demonstrates to clients how to take the cholera vaccine in response to the latest cholera outbreak in Blantyre, Malawi, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Eldson ChagaraBLANTYRE, Malawi, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Malawi has delayed the opening of public schools in the southern African country's two major cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe, the health minister said Monday, to try to slow down a surge in cholera deaths. Cholera is an annual problem during Malawi's rainy months from November to March, where the number of deaths is around 100 a year. The global stockpile of cholera vaccines the World Health Organization helps manage is "currently empty or extremely low", a WHO official said last month amid a resurgence of the disease. Chiponda called on authorities to tighten control measures, including spraying chlorine to disinfect congested places such as markets and schools and stepping up inoculations.

☆ Malawi vice president arrested over corruption, says graft watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BLANTYRE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested the country's Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima over graft allegations, it said on Friday. Chilima would be taken to court where he was expected to be charged with three counts of corrupt practices by a public officer, among other charges, the corruption watchdog said in a statement. The statement alleged Chilima was rewarded for assisting Xaviar Limited and Malachitte FZE, two companies connected to British businessman Zuneth Sattar to be awarded contracts by the Malawi Government. In August, the Financial Times reported that Sattar was under investigation by Britain's National Crime Agency over alleged abuse of Malawi's public procurement system. Earlier this year, Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera dissolved his entire cabinet on charges of corruption against three serving ministers.

☆ Malawi close to sealing $54 mln IMF emergency funding for economic shock
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Frank Phiri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Malawi, which is experiencing chaotic queues at fuel stations that are running dry due to a lack of foreign currency, would be the first African country to receive special IMF emergency financing to deal with the global inflation crisis. Ukraine received $1.3 billion under the same new programme, known as the "Food Shock Window", earlier this month. The IMF said last week it had discussed Malawi's request for support under the emergency programme and that the board would consider it "as soon as possible". The Food Shock Window was launched at the end of last month to help countries with balance of payments problems. Half of Malawi's IMF quota is equivalent to about $54.4 million at current exchange rates on the fund's website, and would be the maximum it can request for this emergency financing.

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