Malawi Health Minister pledges timely relief for cyclone victims

Malawi-Health Minister Khumbidze Chiponda Kandodo has pledged the government's commitment to ensuring that relief items reach the people displaced by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in a timely manner, writes Cornelius Lupenga.

Speaking at the Bangula Evacuation Centre in Nsanje on Sunday, Kandodo donated 500 bags of maize and acknowledged that relief supplies were not reaching the area due to road closures in Chikwawa.

She added, "With the rehabilitation works of the road, it will now be much easier for supplies to reach the affected areas."

Lalanje Gladys Ganda, Parliamentarian for Nsanje, thanked the government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), for the relief maize.

She urged local and international well-wishers to come forward with various aid in the camps, stating, "People need both food and non-food items in the evacuation centres."

Ganda, who is also the Chair of the Finance and Budget Committee of Parliament, clarified that the flood victims are only allowed to stay in camps for a maximum of 90 days, after which they should find alternative accommodation.

"After three months, no displaced people are supposed to be in the evacuation centres," she said.