Cash and climate justice: empowering communities in Malawi and beyond

Malawi is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, characterised by high population growth, declining agricultural productivity, and low resilience to climate change. In the last 36 years alone, Malawi has experienced 21 major floods. Around 90% of the population relies on rain-fed agriculture, and smallholder farmers (who make up 80% of the population) require consistent temperatures and weather patterns to survive. The poorest households are trapped in a recurrent cycle of food insecurity and weather-related climate shocks (e.g. drought and cyclone-induced floods), which are exacerbated by persistent macro-economic challenges.

In Malawi, GiveDirectly has established itself as a trusted cash actor among national government and key development institutions. We have delivered over $76 million in cash, via mobile money, to more than 166,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable households living in remote rural and urban areas across 10 districts and 4 cities. Our programmes have contributed to the national development priorities outlined in the Malawi Vision 2063, including attaining food security, improving education outcomes, increasing agricultural output and facilitating inclusive wealth creation.

After the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March 2023, which displaced 564,239 people, the Government of Malawi (GoM) launched a voluntary household relocation scheme for the affected populations. To further support the GoM priorities and the displaced communities, GiveDirectly partnered with the Scottish Government Climate Justice Fund to provide unconditional large lump-sum cash transfers to help community members in Nsanje District to relocate — if they chose to — from low-lying, flood-prone lands to higher ground within the same district, and reconstruct their lives and livelihoods. Communities had experienced loss and damage across a broad spectrum of categories, including assets, capacities, status, and security. Economic loss and damage included housing, food stocks, livestock, farmland, employment, access to markets, and schooltime for children. Non-economic loss and damage included agency (previously independent people were now relying on other people to feed them), dignity (people did not have decent clothes or shelter), disrupted social networks (people were disconnected from friends and neighbours due to relocating) and death (family members lost to the floods). This programme aimed to acknowledge the nuanced nature of loss and damage, understanding that community values and dependencies play a significant role in determining needs and preferences.

Evidence from multiple studies suggests that the positive outcomes of large lump-sum cash transfers endure over time, lifting households sustainably out of vulnerability in a way that reduces food insecurity and increases their resilience to shocks. Through this collaboration, 2,700 households displaced by Cyclone Freddy in Nsanje District received three unconditional large lump-sum cash transfers over two months amounting to roughly $766, empowering them to rebuild their lives. By examining data on household needs, local cost of living, the value of the Malawian Kwacha, and the potential impact of cash transfers, GiveDirectly determined that $766 was an optimal amount to create transformative change in recipients’ lives. This sum is sufficient to enable meaningful investments in health, education, business ventures, and housing improvements, thereby fostering long-term economic stability and improved quality of life.

Key takeaways

The conventional approach of providing humanitarian assistance each time climate shocks hit has raised concerns about sustainability and long-term effectiveness of this model, which relies on donors being called upon to provide relief assistance to the same populations month after month, season after season, without addressing the root causes. Experiences from this project support this concern. Initial assessments show that communities were clearly ready for long-term solutions, including relocation, provided certain guarantees and means were in place to outweigh perceived costs. Key incentives – such as guarantees of land ownership, preservation of chief structures, accessibility to essential services, and availability of economic opportunities – proved critical in fostering community engagement and commitment to the relocation process. Overall, the programme showed that a successful relocation initiative as distributive climate justice relies on a holistic approach that addresses social, cultural, economic and governance considerations.

Firstly, government and local authorities play a crucial role in facilitating community-driven relocation programmes through the creation of transparent, decentralised and inclusive systems. The GoM demonstrated the power of effective leadership by requiring households to express their desire for relocation through written expressions of interest, collated by the community’s chief, thereby granting the community autonomy. These expressions served as a conduit for affirming consent from the community seeking to relocate, and the GoM furthered this by also obtaining consent from potential host communities. Importantly, relocation decisions were made at the household level — while the majority of communities moved together, not every household had to, or chose to, move. The GoM not only initiated the programme but also executed it in a way that put decision-making power in the hands of the communities, with cash transfers providing the necessary resources to participate in the process.

However, relocation is not just mere logistics: norms, values and traditions are integral parts to individual and community livelihood and wellbeing. The cash transfers targeted communities displaced in their entirety, most of whom chose to relocate as a group to maintain community cohesion and leadership structures. There were not drastic variations in culture, as relocations occurred within the same district, sharing similar farming patterns, languages and existing structures, facilitating integration and allowing the communities to cohabitate, intermarry and share resources. However, participants previously resisted moving due to concerns about losing their chief; host communities addressed this by maintaining and respecting traditional village demarcations. Collaboration between traditional chiefs of both communities proved instrumental in mitigating potential conflicts, underscoring the importance of considering traditional cultural norms and structures for long-term success. This is also evident from another programme that GiveDirectly has supported in the Mount Elgon region of Uganda, where the government had previously attempted to relocate households from communities in flood-prone regions. Participants returned to their original homes, reporting that ‘the new plots were 230 miles east, in a part of the country with a different language, different traditions – where people lacked the connections that help them survive’.

By preserving the dignity and agency of recipients and fostering community-driven solutions to reconstruction and recovery, large lump-sum cash transfers can be central to the success of humanitarian programming in climate-induced crises. Recipients choose what to spend on based on their own priorities, and do so locally, contributing to their own recovery as well as local economies. Target communities wanted to build something more sustainable and have a sense of security: the large lump-sum cash transfers enabled them to make tangible improvements in key areas, including household income, food security, and asset ownership. Almost all recipients (96%) reported spending their transfer on productive assets, including purchasing livestock and starting a new business, as well as building a new home and pursuing education. Building a new house was the most commonly reported transfer spending category (89% of recipients) and the largest proportion of total reported transfer spending (72.4%). In the Mount Elgon region as well, following the receipt of the cash transfer, many assisted households have been able to identify safer land in adjacent communities (almost half of the recipients have already used at least part of the cash transfer to buy new land) while others are investing in the safety of their houses and fields and/or livestock, with no plan to move.

The use of unconditional large lump-sum cash transfers delivered directly to people affected and displaced by climate change demonstrates a locally led solution where individuals have a choice of how best to address the loss and damage they have suffered in alignment with their values.

Lessons learned

Navigating the complexities of a community relocation programme in a climate-induced crisis revealed unforeseen challenges and nuanced dynamics. A comprehensive analysis of the initiative highlights the intricacies of community readiness, governmental collaboration and cultural sensitivities.

At the outset, there was an expectation that communities would have largely moved by the time cash assistance was to be provided by GiveDirectly. However, while the cash transfers were being delivered there was still fluidity in the community, with some individuals in the process of moving or yet to relocate, as previously mentioned. This complicated the enrolment and verification of individuals, as well as the implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities. Future programming should adapt to the timeline of movement for communities and consider the best time to transfer cash or assets to drive the desired outcomes.

It’s important to note that the goal of relocation is a long-term solution, and therefore our outcomes should also be measured over a longer period of time. Relocation and adaptation results take time to show up in the data as it takes time for households to plan, organise, make a move, and rebuild a life. For example, programme monitoring data shows that some households are investing in solutions to increase their incomes to be able to make bigger investments after moving, and others are moving house but maintaining fields until the next harvest. The best outcome is integration of communities with increased livelihood opportunities and resilience, but more crucially, improved wellbeing for all regardless of relocation plans.

Reflecting on the programme, there was also a recognition of the necessity to strengthen case- management systems at the community level. Despite efforts to mitigate risks, including thorough risk assessment and safeguarding measures, in some key areas there was a desire for more purposeful intervention from established community-protection structures. Meetings were held with communities to address potential issues and to establish clear communication channels for reporting and contact. While these mechanisms were used, GiveDirectly identified instances that could have been avoided or managed more comprehensively if the case-management community structures had been more robust. Although the support of chiefs was instrumental in negotiating on behalf of their communities, there were still resettlement issues with host communities that warranted more capacity for remedial action.

Conclusions

The relocation programme in Nsanje District, Malawi, offers valuable insights into the complexities and challenges of addressing climate-induced vulnerabilities and fostering sustainable solutions for affected communities. Through an analysis of both successes and challenges, it becomes clear that successful initiatives require a multifaceted approach that integrates community autonomy, governmental leadership or collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and effective aid-delivery mechanisms. Moving forward, it is imperative for stakeholders to leverage lessons from past experiences to inform future interventions, ensuring that efforts are not only impactful but also sensitive to the nuanced realities of the communities they seek to support.

Central to this process is the recognition of the importance of giving people freedom and dignity of choice, and the power of large lump-sum cash transfers to do so effectively. Empowering communities by enabling them to spend aid on whatever they value most as they move forward on a path to recovery and reconstruction, involving them in decision-making processes and respecting their preferences and traditions, fosters a sense of ownership and strengthens resilience.

By embracing a holistic and iterative approach, grounded in empathy, collaboration, and a commitment to long-term resilience, we can navigate the complexities of climate-induced displacement with greater efficacy. Ultimately, this approach paves the way for a more just and sustainable future, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive with dignity and empowerment.

Alexandra Cohen is a Global Partnerships Manager at GiveDirectly, where she builds strategic relationships with international partners to reduce poverty by providing financial assistance directly to those in need.