Deputy British High Commissioner Olympia Wereko-Brobby (3rd right) welcoming the experts
* The local search and rescue units include MDF, General and Marine Police, Marine Department, Fisheries, DoDMA and Malawi Red Cross Society
* The training will target SAR strategic planners and boat operators and culminate in a live simulation exercise on Lake Malawi
By Duncan Mlanjira
A 12-member team of search and rescue (SAR) experts from the United Kingdom (UK) has arrived in the country to train their Malawian counterparts from various organisations on how to respond to future floods and build Malawi’s resilience to climate change induced severe weather events.
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The team was welcomed today by Deputy British High Commissioner & Development Director, Olympia Wereko-Brobby, ahead of the 7-day intensive training that will draw 40 Malawian national SAR cluster participants from various units.
The SAR units include the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), the General and Marine Police, Marine Department, Fisheries, Department of Disaster Management (DoDMA) and Malawi Red Cross Society.
A statement from the the British High Commission in Lilongwe says the training will target SAR strategic planners and boat operators and culminate in a live simulation exercise on Lake Malawi on February 9-10.
Malawian units efforts in 2023
The High Commission reminds the public that the UK experts first came to Malawi in 2023 for a rescue mission in Nsanje when the country was affected by Cyclone Freddy.
“They then returned the following year (2024) for the first flood response preparedness training, while this year will provide training of trainers for officers and college instructors at strategic and tactical levels to further institutionalise SAR across the flood prone nation’s response services.”
The statement further says the deployment of these SAR experts is supported through UK’s Preparedness and Emergency Prepositioning and Response for Flood and Cyclone Events (PREPARE) project with World Food Programme (WFP) and DoDMA.
“Under the same project, the UK is providing search and rescue equipment and ensuring Malawian response personnel are in place to assist with timely evacuations ahead of flood and cyclone events and provide lifesaving support when needed,” says the British High Commission.
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