Hunger to hit hard Malawi economy – World Bank

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Laura Kullenberg

Following the hunger crisis in Malawi, the World Bank says it will be hard for the country’s economy to start growing rapidly soon.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Monday, World Bank country manager Laura Kullenberg said Malawi has diverted a lot of resources to support the starving population due to El-Nino weather that has paralyzed the agricultural sector.

Laura Kullenberg
Laura Kullenberg with Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe (File)

“We have been hit hard by El-Nino and a lot of resources have been allocated towards provision of humanitarian support to citizens rather than long-term solutions to economic growth,” said Kullenberg.

In its quest to deal with the apparent hunger situation, the Malawi government allocated MK198.5 billion kwacha to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development to avert the food crisis.

In response to emergency assistance to alleviate the suffering, the World Bank granted Malawi $22.6 million, just over half of which will be used to help curb acute malnutrition in under-five children caused by drought-related food shortages.

Being a country with agriculture as the economic backbone, Malawi is now triggering to stand for a growth with the country’s green gold facing a rejection on the market.