BY BARTHOLOMEW BOAZ
The Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (Cadecom), a relief development arm of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has urged government to expedite the enactment of the right to food bill.
Speaking on Wednesday in Balaka during a two-day training for journalists on climate resilient policies, National Cadecom Secretary Carsterns Mulume said there is need for the country to approve and enact some bills.
Mulume said climate change, disaster risk management and national agriculture policies as well as the right to food bill need to be given the much needed attention to ensure the country is resilient to climate shocks.
“We would like to work with the media to make them understand what is in the bills for them to help in advocating for the enactment of the same. The media should help in influencing policy makers on this,” said Mulume.
“The disaster risk management policy was enacted, but there’s need for more funding for it to be implemented,” he added.
He further said that if there are no policies in place the country will not have clear guidelines to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.
The training pulled together at least 15 journalists from all reputable media houses in the country.
Cadecom is implementing a three-year-project called ‘Increasing Food Security and Resilience to Climate Shocks’ which is expected to benefit 1,250 households in the country.
It is also working with Civil Society Network on Climate Change and Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) to advocate for the enactment of climate resilient policies such as Right to Food Bill, National Disaster Risk Management Policy and National Climate change.