Our work
Disaster Risk Management & Emergency Response
Capacity building on disaster risk reduction and integrated resilience, and emergency response to cyclones and other disasters affecting Malawian communities.
RECOAT builds capacity on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and integrated resilience and water management, and responds directly when disaster strikes — including Cyclone Ana, Cyclone Gombe, and Cyclone Freddy, which caused widespread displacement, destroyed homes, medical infrastructure, and crops, and left many families without safe shelter across Blantyre, Phalombe, Mulanje, Thyolo, and Chiradzulu.
Emergency response work is delivered alongside consortium partners and covers the full arc from immediate relief to recovery: distributing food items, shelter kits, WASH kits, and kitchen kits; running awareness campaigns on protection, hygiene, and WASH in emergencies; rehabilitating boreholes so communities regain access to safe water; and supporting preparedness so communities are better placed to withstand the next shock.
RECOAT's approach follows Building Back Better principles and includes education in emergencies, so that recovery strengthens communities rather than simply restoring what was lost.
What this looks like
- Disaster risk reduction capacity building and integrated resilience and water management
- Distribution of food items, shelter kits, WASH kits, and kitchen kits to disaster-affected households
- Awareness campaigns on protection, Building Back Better, and hygiene and WASH in emergencies
- Rehabilitation of boreholes in disaster-affected districts to restore access to portable water
- Preparedness interventions so communities can respond more effectively to future disasters
- Response to cyclones Ana, Gombe, and Freddy in partnership with consortium organizations
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See this program at work
Responding to Cyclone Freddy
Cyclone Freddy devastated homes, farmland, and medical infrastructure across five districts in southern Malawi. RECOAT has been distributing food, shelter, and WASH kits to help affected families recover.
Emergency Response to Cyclones Ana & Gombe
Between February and May 2022, RECOAT joined a multi-agency consortium to deliver emergency rapid response to communities affected by cyclones Ana and Gombe.