Malawi’s economy and the wellbeing of its people are highly vulnerable to climate change and variability, with over 80% of the labor force employed in the agricultural sector and 70 percent living below the international poverty line. From 1990 to 2018, 21 flooding events affected more than 2.7 million people, while 7 drought events affected in excess of 27 million people.
To help address these risks, the $125 million World Bank Malawi Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (MSSRLP) seeks to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable population and strengthen the national platform for safety nets. GRiF is co-financing the project, which will design a shock-responsive social protection system, that will offer cash transfers after smaller events through contingent IDA funds held in the project as well as after larger events by way of a risk transfer instrument financed by the GRiF grant.
GRiF has provided a total grant of $21 million, of which US$10 will be used to finance premiums for a risk transfer instrument, while the balance will enable design and development of the shock-responsive social protection system – one that is transparent and accountable and embedded within national delivery systems. These efforts complement ongoing in-country initiatives to improve the effectiveness of cash transfers, including efforts under the Learning Task Force on Shock Sensitive Safety Nets, co-founded by UNICEF, World Bank and Government of Malawi, and actively supported by the World Food Programme and other organizations.
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