Alum Hannah Kasongo – Advancing Climate Finance for a Resilient Malawi

As one of the most climate‑vulnerable countries in the world, Malawi faces escalating challenges driven by extreme weather events, climate uncertainty, and limited technical capacity. For environmental professional and Australia Awards alum, Hannah Kasongo, these national challenges were not abstract – they shaped her daily work. Despite six years of experience, she often felt the absence of a formal qualification constrained her ability to make informed decisions.

“A lack of a professional qualification in Climate Change stopped me sometimes in making decisions, as there is no academic backing,” she explains. This realisation inspired her to apply for the Australia Awards Africa Short Course in Financing Climate Action in May 2024, seeing it as a crucial step toward strengthening both her expertise and Malawi’s resilience.

 Building Understanding Before the Award

Hannah participated in the 2025 Alumni Review Workshop, where she shared her Most Significant Change (MSC) story with the Program’s Monitoring and Evaluation Team. She currently works as an Environmental Officer in the Department of Environmental Affairs in the Malawian Government. Before receiving the award, she was driven by a desire to deepen her understanding of climate action and the global institutions that support Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

“I had always wanted to know institutions that provided funding to LDCs for the management of climate action,” she recalls. Her appointment as Malawi’s Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) focal point under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) further underscored the urgency of acquiring specialised knowledge.

Her interactions with Australian professionals also left an impression. “I learned that they prioritise their culture and have confidence in themselves. They do not exclusively rely on other countries but develop their own solutions,” she reflects – a lesson that strengthened her own sense of professional agency.

 Transformative Learning During the Award

Receiving the award was a defining moment. “I was over the moon… Australia was one of the countries I have always wanted to visit,” Hannah shares. Her short course with Curtin University in Perth exceeded expectations, blending academic depth with practical, field‑based learning delivered by experts from Australia.

A highlight was visiting the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), where she gained clarity on concepts she had long encountered but never fully understood.

“I had always heard about carbon capture and storage, which I didn’t understand, but during this visit, I had a clear picture of what it is and how it is done.” Exposure to cutting‑edge research, including innovative projects by PhD students, deeply inspired her: “This was my first time to see such great results emanating from a research project… this motivated me to even work harder.”

The course reshaped her understanding of climate finance, revealing the importance of inter‑ministerial collaboration. “We need to work with the Ministry of Finance, and we need to understand how bonds and loans work,” she notes.

Driving Impact After the Award

Armed with new skills and confidence, Hannah quickly began turning knowledge into action. “The experience and skills I got from this short course… enabled me to start achieving results in the shortest time possible,” she says.

Some of her achievements include:

• She supported Malawi’s Ministry of Health in developing a proposal titled “Building Climate Change Resilient Health Systems,” submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• She was approached by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Country Office and Development Aid from People to People in Malawi (DAPP Malawi) to contribute to proposals under the Mitigation Action Facility (formerly NDC Partnership Call 2025).
• She was nominated as the Climate Change and Health Advisor for Least Developed Countries, enabling her to participate in COP29 in Azerbaijan.
• She joined the Secretariat for the Friends of Climate Change and Health, working to ensure climate‑health issues gain prominence in future UNFCCC negotiations.

For Hannah, the short course has become a cornerstone of her professional growth and a catalyst for national impact. As she notes proudly: “Coming from one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, for me it is about helping institutions come up with bankable proposals to get funding for the management of climate change in my country.” The short course also enhanced her grasp of climate‑finance instruments. “I can understand green bonds, concessional loans, and the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance,” she explains.

 Staying Connected and Giving Back

Hannah remains deeply engaged with the Australia Awards alumni community at both national and global levels.

“We meet quarterly where we share experiences and plans… We usually have different speakers on how this award has impacted their personal and career lives,” she says. She continues to collaborate with colleagues from her short course through WhatsApp and email groups, exchanging ideas and tracking progress on their action plans.

Her journey reflects the profound ripple effect of investing in capacity building through the Australia Awards short course – strengthening not just an individual’s career, but the resilience and future of an entire nation.