The floods devastating Malawi and Mozambique have triggered the Regional Emergency Preparedness and Inclusive Access to Recovery (REPAIR) programme’s prametric trigger, resulting in a disbursement of over $22.3 million within seven business days to support urgent national flood response operations in the countries, enabling governments to mobilise immediate relief.
As participating countries in REPAIR, Malawi and Mozambique subsequently triggered activation requests of $2.375 million and $20 million, respectively, to complement their national relief and early recovery operations.
REPAIR is a collaborative initiative led by the World Bank, supported by the Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF), and implemented by ARC Ltd., an affiliate of the African Risk Capacity Group. These are the programme’s third and fourth disbursements since its creation in July 2024.
The funds will be used to purchase life-saving supplies, including food and medical kits, water storage and sanitation equipment, and emergency shelter and household items.
In the last two months, the countries have been marked by continuous heavy rainfall, triggering significant flooding that has claimed at least 115 lives, displaced tens of thousands of people and damaged critical infrastructure across both countries. In Mozambique, the situation was compounded by strong winds, wildfires and a cholera outbreak.
According to official figures from the Malawian government, the floods in Nkhotakota District and surrounding areas in late December 2025 directly affected over 49,000 people (approximately 10,900 households), claiming 12 victims and displacing 2,132 families who had to be relocated to temporary camps hosted in schools, churches and a health centre.
The country’s response to the floods is being coordinated by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), with support from the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), one of REPAIR’s pre-identified delivery channels.
Meanwhile, in Mozambique, flooding in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Sofala has partially or completely destroyed over 15,000 homes, directly impacting over 231,000 people. The death toll has already reached 112. In addition, 2,145 cases of cholera have been declared in Zambezia and Nampula provinces.
National relief operations are being led by the National Institute of Disaster Risk Management (INGD), which is working with the National Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation and the Ministry of Health, to deliver food, safe water and sanitation, and medicines to affected populations. These efforts are being hampered by damage to the national highway, the N1, preventing the movement of people and goods up and down the country.
David Maslo, Chief Executive Officer, ARC, commented, “In times of crisis, rapid support can make the difference between a shock and a humanitarian emergency. Through REPAIR, ARC Ltd is supporting Malawi and Madagascar in these difficult circumstances by ensuring that critical funding reaches the government quickly, as demonstrated by this disbursement delivered within seven business days of the activation request, so that relief can be mobilised before conditions deteriorate.”
Caroline Cerruti, World Bank Lead Financial Sector Specialist and REPAIR Regional Lead, added, “REPAIR is committed to strengthening not only the financial preparedness of its participating countries, but also their operational readiness. The current activations in Malawi and Mozambique have benefited from the lessons learned last year and from crisis simulation exercises to ensure that Ministries of Finance could promptly activate the program and move the funds swiftly to benefit the affected communities.
“The peer-to-peer learning between countries is a fundamental feature to create a regional disaster risk finance ecosystem, thereby enhancing the climate resilience of a region which is very susceptible to natural shocks. We thank our participating countries for their active engagement in REPAIR and pledge to stand by their side in times of crisis.”
Previously, REPAIR has supported relief and recovery efforts in Comoros and Mozambique, following the passage of cyclones Chido and Jude, respectively.
These activations have allowed participating countries to benefit from each other’s experiences in accessing and delivering funds, while ongoing Simulation Exercises continue to reinforce multi-hazard preparedness and response systems and procedures.
In mid 2025, Malawi joined Phase 2 of REPAIR, alongside Angola, Burundi, Seychelles and Zambia, while Phase 1 is comprised of Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique.
REPAIR establishes a Regional Climate Risk Fund, with an envelope of up to $926 million, which is designed to increase climate resilience among participating countries by supporting timely and scalable responses to natural shocks based on their severity.
