START Fund Alert 310 Malawi Evaluation: Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Groups Affected by Floods in Blantyre City

Heavy rains began across Southern Malawi on 5th March 2019 leading to heavy flooding and on 8 March the Government of Malawi declared a State of Disaster. A START Alert was submitted 11th March, followed by a START funding application from HelpAge on 13th March involving GOAL, Islamic Relief and MANEPO. Rapid response was critical, and approval was given on 14th March, with a response started on 15th March and direct impact in terms of life saving activities for beneficiaries from 18th March.

The project planned to address lifesaving needs across the 3 areas of Blantyre City, Chikwawa District and Nsanje District over 45 days in the humanitarian sectors of Protection, Water and Sanitation (WaSH), Capacity building, Unconditional cash transfers, Health, Non Food Items (NFI), Shelter and Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) working to address the needs of 21,934 people with a budget of £231,741.

The planned impact of this project was specifically to support vulnerable groups (pregnant and lactating women, older people, people with disabilities and children) who were particularly affected by the crisis in the following ways:

• ensure they were able to reach camps or otherwise receive immediate support;
• ensure camps were well managed with adequate supplies and accommodation and protection standards;
• provide supplies of key food, non-food items and cash to address immediate needs;
• awareness raising activities to address sanitation and health concerns in the camps and surrounding areas;
• alert other relevant stakeholders with other immediate needs of the vulnerable for action.

The purpose of this evaluation was to evidence good practice and identify learning for future projects.