6.5 million Malawians in need of food aid: Malawian government

Malawi government Wednesday appeal to the international community for immediate humanitarian aid to support the country's 6.5 million people who are in dire need of food aid.

The call was made at the State Residence, Kamuzu Palace, in Malawi capital, Lilongwe where Malawi government and international humanitarian partners launched the Food Insecurity Response Plan (FIRP) designed to tackle the critical food shortage the country is experiencing.

The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) findings in June 2016 reveals that out of the 6.5 million people affected by food shortage, 2.4 million people completely lost their production during the 2015/2016 growing season due to adverse weather patterns caused by the El Nino.

The report further indicates that 24 of the country's 28 districts are affected by food shortage and 975,000 children and women are in dire need of nutrition assistance.

"The overall budget for humanitarian aid required in Malawi is 395.13 million United States dollars and confirmed pledges so far amount to 91.32 United States dollars only, leaving a resources gap of 303.8 million United States dollars," reads the report.

Malawi President, Peter Mutharika said his government had set aside 50 million United States dollars for a humanitarian response to the food situation but he appealed for more support.

"6.5 million people, which is 39 percent of the population, require emergency food assistance from July 2016 to March 2017," said Mutharika.

"I would like to appeal to all development partners and governments, private sector, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and all people of good will to support the implementation of the response plan, whether in cash or in kind. The task at hand requires coordinated effort of all of us."

Acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNAIDS Country Director, Amakobe Sande, echoed Mutharika's calls for humanitarian support saying early response to the food insecurity in Malawi would ease logistic arrangements.

"Early response is very critical for prepositioning of food supplies ahead of rains given La Nina predictions: prevention is a better investment than a response,"Sande said.

The Acting UN Resident Coordinator expressed appreciation to development partners and countries such as the US, UK, World Bank, African Development Bank, IMF, China and Egypt for their pledge to support Malawi's Food Insecurity Response Plan.

The Plan, which spans from July 2016 to March 2017, is designed to focus on food security, nutrition, agriculture, education, water, sanitation and hygiene.

Malawi also experienced food shortage and floods during the 2014/2015 growing season which saw over 200 people dying and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops washed away.

Mutharika declared 15 districts of the country disaster areas and following his appeal to the international community for humanitarian support, food aid poured in to the affected families. Endit