CHAIRR-Malawi: District Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessments – Summary for Policymakers

This Summary for Policymakers is a synthesis of the interdisciploinary research carried out under the Climate Health in Africa Integrated Risk Research (CHAIRR) - Malawi project. The primary aim of CHAIRR-Malawi, a Sightsavers and Walker Institute collaboration, is to provide a comprehensive, fine resolution picture of climate effects that will have a bearing on the epidemiology of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) in Malawi.

Funded by Sightsavers and implemented in partnership with the Walker Institute at the University of Reading, the initiative builds on cutting-edge climate science and stakeholder engagement to generate actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners. By generating district-level climate risk and vulnerability assessments to inform evidence-based adaptation strategies, the CHAIRR project seeks to enhance resilience and health outcomes across Malawi’s diverse geographical and socio-economic settings.

The targeted outcomes include strengthened institutional and technical capacities for managing climate-related health risks and the development of Inclusive Consultative Integrated Climate-Livelihood-Environment (ICICLE) storylines. These are designed to guide policy and practitioner understanding on the future prevalence and spread of NTDs in Malawi, and to support evidence-based decision-making in monitoring and adapting to the impact of climate change on NTDs. The aim is to enhance planning to reduce health risks posed by NTDs to communities in Malawi - a critical action identified in the World Health Organisation 2030 NTD road map in 2020.