Expanding Feasibility: Public-NGO Partnerships in Designing and Implementing Disaster Management Plans in Southern Malawi

Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 00:39
Location: SJES031 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
Oral Presentation
Shahar LIVNE, Department of Health Systems Management, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
Matamando MWENDERA, Partners in Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, Neno, Malawi
Stellar CHIBVUNDE, Partners in Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, Neno, Malawi
Moses BANDA ARON, Partners in Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, Neno, Malawi
Fabian MUNYANEZA, Partners in Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, Neno, Malawi
Nadav DAVIDOVICH, Department of Health Systems Management, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
Anat ROSENTHAL, Department of Health Systems Management, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
Introduction: Recurrent climate disasters, disease outbreaks, and the COVID-19 pandemic have driven the development of district-level disaster management plans in Malawi. However, extremely limited resources and centralized state structures hinder their implementation. The study examines the complex interplay between health, welfare, and disaster management stakeholders from NGO and public sector in designing and implementing disaster management plans in Southern Malawi.

Aim: The study examines strategies employed by district-level public officers to develop disaster management plans amid recurrent emergencies and resource constraints, as well as the relationships and negotiations between public and NGO stakeholders surrounding preparedness priorities.

Methods: As part of a collaboration between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Partners in Health Malawi/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 28 stakeholders in Neno and Chikwawa Districts, Malawi, during August-September 2024, supplemented by document analysis of policy papers related to Cyclones Idai, Ana, and Freddy.

Results: Both public and NGO stakeholders prioritize feasible interventions in low-resource settings while negotiating with the central government and donors for more costly, infrastructure-focused investments. Public servants promote “open-source” disaster management plans, creating a pool of shared priorities and resources, including systems, staff, and data. They build networks and long-term relationships with NGOs and multi-sectoral actors to enhance program implementation feasibility through the establishment of permanent and ad-hoc committees and training.

Conclusions: Disaster management plans in Malawi are subject to neoliberal policies advocating for selective services based on feasibility and cost-effectiveness with limited resources, echoing similar approaches for other public services in the country. However, public servants' focus on long-term relationships creates spaces of imaginaries of what could be feasible in disaster preparedness and management. All the while, challenging the notion of the feasible by negotiating for infrastructure-focused investments.