Government through the Minister of Information and Digitalisation, Moses Kunkuyu, says Malawi Government has reached 798, 319 households with relief maize and will ensure all hunger-stricken households are reached with relief food.
The Minister made the remarks at the Central Office of Information (COI) during ‘Government Faces the Press’ where he and the Commissioner in the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Charles Kalemba, were updating the nation on how government is responding to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) 2023 report.
The MVAC report projects that 4.4 million people in the country would be food insecure during the 2023/24 lean season.
However, the Minister says no one will die of hunger as government in collaboration with humanitarian partners will ensure all hunger-stricken households are reached with relief food.
Kunkuyu said that government is distributing 50 kg bags of maize per month while other beneficiaries are getting cash amounting to K50,000 per month in order to lessen the effects of the situation.
“Maize distribution exercise started in October targeting six-month deficit in councils namely: Nkhotakota, Mwanza, Neno, Phalombe, Blantyre, Thyolo, Mulanje, Zomba and Ntcheu districts. So far, a total of 798, 319 people, approximately (3,592,435 people) have been reached out with relief maize from strategic grain reserves,” said Kunkuyu.
He also indicated that 174,003 households (approximately 783,013 people have been reached out with cash transfers with K26.1 billion disbursed.
“Each household received a once-off payment of K150,000 covering three months. This has been made possible through collaboration between DoDMA and partners such as the World Bank, Irish Aid, World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and Germany,” he added.
Kunkuyu also highlighted that Word Bank through World Food Programme (WFP) contributed 20 million US Dollars which has been used in the importation of 23,000 tonnes of maize flour from Tanzania and South Africa.
“The flour has already started arriving and will be distributed to 1,790,001 people in 12 councils of Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Lilongwe, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mzimba, Thyolo, Dowa, Karonga, Ntchisi, Chitipa with each household receiving a 50kg bag and the distribution exercise will commence on 24th February,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MVAC report projected food deficit due to a decrease in maize production following factors such as climatic shocks, as well as pests and disease outbreak among others.
