Malawi - IOM is assisting communities displaced by recent floods in Malawi with emergency shelters.

In early January 2015, torrential rains and flooding hit Malawi’s southern districts destroying the homes, crops, and livelihoods of over half a million people.

The floods left an estimated 230,000 people internally displaced and the Malawi government declared a national state of emergency, activating disaster management clusters and operations.

At the request of the Malawi Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and the UN Resident Coordinator’s office, IOM is addressing critical gaps in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and shelter for internally displaced people (IDPs).

With funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), IOM’s emergency shelter response efforts are targeting 7,000 households, many who are currently in underserved IDP camps.

“The emergency assistance needs of IDPs who are currently living at displacement sites exceed what is currently available in Malawi,” said Sam Grundy, IOM’s Emergency Coordinator.

“Through improved camp coordination and camp management, combined with support for emergency shelter, IOM will both support the targeting and prioritization of humanitarian assistance, particularly through the production of accurate humanitarian profiles at all 250 existing camps (across six districts)  and contribute directly to the emergency shelter needs,” he added.  

IOM has also established its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) system, an information management tool used worldwide to gather information on the status and location of IDP sites.

In Malawi, IOM is using the DTM to fill critical information gaps concerning the humanitarian and protection needs in the sites as well as demographic and human mobility data in the six worst affected districts of Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje, Blantyre Rural and Zomba.  

“Today, 40 enumerators have been deployed to the IDP sites in six of the worst affected districts with preliminary information anticipated within a week and a detailed report by the middle of March,” said Grundy. “Given the needs of displaced populations in relation to the humanitarian resources available, DTM will ensure humanitarian actors are able to prioritize response according to verified humanitarian needs.”

In addition, DTM will contribute to the identification and referral of severely at risk groups within the camps, including survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

Before the floods, IOM was already undertaking a disaster risk management intervention in Malawi. Government and civil protection staff were trained in camp management and camp coordination. Since the disaster, with IOM support, many have been deployed to the worst affected areas.

In addition, IOM’s CCCM trainer is providing rapid induction courses to all camp managers and monitors currently working in the camps, in partnership with government. 

Malawi experiences flooding every year, but the extent and severity of the January 2015 floods had a catastrophic impact on communities living in southern Malawi.  Once the critical emergency needs of disaster affected populations have been addressed, IOM is committed to working with partners to support communities to rebuild their lives and become more resilient to flooding disasters in future.

For more information, please contact

Sam Grundy

IOM Malawi

Tel: +265 88 524 8112

Email: sgrundy@iom.int