| Overview : Disaster Risk Management Bill has been developed that, when passed, will replace the Disaster Preparedness and Relief Act of 1991. To guide implementation of disaster risk management programmes by different stakeholders at different levels in the country, DoDMA developed the Operational Guidelines for Disaster Risk Management. The Operational Guidelines (OG) assigns roles and responsibilities to different actors on how to deal with different hazards in the country covering disaster risk reduction, preparedness, response and recovery. With the drafting of the DRM Bill, it has been decided that the Operational Guidelines be reviewed so that it can include operational issues that could not be comprehensively addressed in the bill. In addition, in 2014 the Malawi Government and the Malawi Red Cross Society with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies commissioned a study to analyse the existing legal and policy frameworks for disaster management and response in Malawi focusing on facilitation and regulation of international disaster assistance. The study has made recommendations for strengthening legal preparedness for disasters in Malawi, some of which would have to be reflected in the OG. The United Nations and other partners in Malawi have also provided additional feedback to the development of DRM legislation and policy implementation with respect to cross-cutting issues as well as institutional and policy context to address social, political and economic aspects of DRM in the country: some of the issues will have to be reflected in the OG. With support from UNDP, DoDMA intends to review the OG to align it to the draft Disaster Risk Management Bill. | 
