LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Civil society organizations, youth movements, and representatives of frontline communities will march to Malawi’s Parliament on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 demanding government’s decisive action on the deepening climate and environmental crisis in the country.
The march, organized by the Clean Cities Project in collaboration with ActionAid Malawi and partners, seeks to highlight the growing humanitarian, environmental, and economic consequences of climate inaction.
According to organizers, the march follows extensive consultations with more than 800 youth and frontline community members, which revealed persistent governance gaps, including weak enforcement of regulations and transparency and accountability in climate financing.
Clean Cities Project Executive Director, Martin Manyozo, said the march forms part of a broader, ongoing civic engagement aimed at strengthening accountability and ensuring sustained government action on climate change and its impacts.
“Communities continue to live in high-risk zones while predictable hazards repeatedly escalate into disasters,” Manyozo said.
Joy Heyle Munthali of the Green Girls Platform deplored the situation, saying “the implementation gaps leave communities exposed and vulnerable despite progressive legal frameworks”.
Project Lead at the Movement for Environmental Action (MEA), Innocent Sandram, cautioned that “failure to utilize data-driven approaches in implementing corrective adaptation measures risks plunging the country into a deep economic crisis and irreversible environmental losses”.
Organizers further say Malawi has suffered cumulative losses of approximately MK 1.6 trillion (USD 921 million) from frequent climate-related disasters yet requires MK 2.5 trillion (USD 1.4 billion) to recover from damages over the past four years.
They say despite these enormous needs, domestic financing for natural resources has chronically remained below 1% of the national budget, highlighting a significant underinvestment in disaster risk reduction and environmental management.
According to the World Bank 2022 Malawi Country Climate and Development Report, climate change could reduce Malawi’s GDP by 3–9% by 2030, 6–20% by 2040, and 8–16% by 2050.
The report says climate shocks could push an additional 2 million Malawians into poverty over the next decade, rising to 4 million by 2040.
Organizers of the march say these projections underscore the “urgent need for decisive action to break the cycle of recurring disaster losses and build resilient systems”.
Recent disasters in Malawi, according to organizers, include: floods, droughts, and cyclones such as Freddy–that resulted in significant loss of lives, large-scale displacement, and widespread destruction of homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods.
As of 25 March 2026, over 69,000 households have been affected, with more than 6,000 displaced. 34 people lost their lives and nearly 200 got injured.
The march in the Capital, Lilongwe, will start at 08:00 am from Kamuzu Central Roundabout and proceed along the Chilima Highway to the Parliament building in city center.