Likoma

Rumphi

Mangochi

Mchinji

Salima

Southern Region

Balaka

Machinga

Mwanza

Thyolo

Blantyre

Mulanje

Chikwawa

Mzimba

Central Region

Zomba

Nkhata Bay

Chitipa

Northern Region

Neno

Chiradzulu

Dedza

Ntchisi

Dowa

Karonga

Nkhotakota

Ntcheu

Kasungu

Nsanje

Phalombe

Lilongwe

Malawi

Sub-Saharan Africa faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges for agricultural transformation, driven by the demands of a rapidly growing population and a changing climate. The effects of climate change are already severe in Africa, exacerbating the continent’s food insecurity and climate vulnerability challenges. 

To address these challenges, RE-GAIN aims to strengthen smallholder farmers' climate resilience and adaptive capacity by promoting the wide-scale adoption of food loss reduction solutions (FL-RS). This involves engaging both the demand and supply sides, with a strong emphasis on market creation and enhancement and active participation from the private sector.

Key activities will include increasing the demand for and encouraging the adoption of FL-RS by farmers in seven countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia), enhancing the supply and affordability of FL-RS, and fostering an enabling environment for its large-scale adoption.

As GCF’s first project targeting food loss reduction, this initiative holds significant potential for transformative change in Africa. It was brought under the Project-Specific Assessment Approach (PSAA), an initiative to streamline and broaden access to GCF finance for new partners, countries, and technologies.

GCF's Project Preparation Facility (PPF) support was deployed to help develop the project.

Local CSOs and CBOs in landscapes-seascapes around the world access grant financing and technical assistance, including capacity development and knowledge sharing to maintain and enhance their socio-ecological resilience, well-being and socio-economic conditions for global environmental benefits.

Malawi is among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, exposed to increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events. These result in a range of health-related impacts, including malaria, diarrheal diseases, illnesses related to extreme heat, food and nutrition insecurity, mental health conditions, and gender-related impacts. Other impacts include the physical impacts of climate hazards on healthcare facilities and water and sanitation infrastructure.

The project’s six target districts are classified as very highly vulnerable to climate impacts, compounded by low adaptive capacities and vulnerability resulting from high levels of poverty, food insecurity, gender inequality, dependence on rain-fed agriculture, limited access to water and sanitation facilities, and high unemployment. 

The project will adopt a holistic climate-informed approach to strengthening Malawi’s health system and reducing the adverse effects of climate change on the health and well-being of the population. It will strengthen and disseminate climate-informed health surveillance and early warning systems at the national level and strengthen the resilience of health, water and sanitation infrastructure. It will also develop and apply national standards and guidelines for climate-resilient facilities.

Healthcare staff will be trained to reduce a range of climate-related health risks through improved disease monitoring, health messaging, and disease treatment and prevention. The result will be communities, particularly marginalised groups, that are better prepared to manage the impacts of climate change on health.

Climate change is intensifying Malawi’s challenges in agricultural productivity and food security. Extreme weather events, soil erosion, and watershed degradation exacerbate droughts and floods, further compromising food and nutritional security.

To address these challenges, this project aims to target 11 vulnerable districts across Malawi to address increased temperatures and erratic rainfall, by enhancing the resilience of rural communities at the watershed level.

The project proposes to restore and sustainably manage watershed ecosystems using the ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) approach combined with integrated landscape management. The project will improve livelihoods and food security by stabilising productivity and incomes through resilient food systems. Over six years, the project will improve the management of 267,500 hectares of land.  Additionally, it supports resilient market chains and local enterprises through Public-Private Producers Partnerships (4P) and aligns with Malawi’s efforts to enhance access to finance for MSMEs. The project also aims to support Malawi’s National Climate Change Fund (NCCF) and strengthen local trusts, leveraging private sector experience on carbon credits through local partnerships.

Geography

Malawi

Recent documents

Adaptation Fund

Climate Investment Funds

Green Climate Fund

Global Environment Facility