THRIVE: Transforming Health, community Resilience, and Inclusion in Vulnerable Environments affected by extreme weather events – Shaping local policy and action to improve nutrition, mental health and well-being in Malawi

This research investigates the complex interlinkages between extreme weather events, nutrition and mental health in smallholder farming and fishing communities in Malawi. In these settings, community resilience is stretched to a breaking point by increasing food insecurity and serious socio-economic and environmental stressors. We propose transdisciplinary, mixed-methods research to advance evidence-based policy-making and local action. The research adopts a systems lens, combining indigenous knowledge with community health, mental health, nutrition, health policy/systems, economic, anthropological, epidemiological and climate modelling expertise. Findings from a citizen ethnographic study and new insights from existing literature and country-wide datasets will feed into the co-creation and evaluation of community-based resilience strategies. Our collaborating partners, the Malawi Government and Save the Children, will use our findings on the feasibility, costs and effects of these resilience strategies to inform the development of Malawi’s National Health Adaptation Plan, and the design and implementation of district health adaptation plans in two study districts. Learnings will inform national scale- up of district health adaptation plans prioritising locally relevant resilience strategies to improve nutrition and mental health outcomes. This scale-up is embedded in the first-ever health-focused Green Climate Fund grant in Africa, led by the Ministry of Health and Save the Children (2025-2029).