Malawi: Over 2.6 million people require food assistance, MVAC reports

During the official handover ceremony of 1,000 tonnes of rice from the Indian Government in Lilongwe, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Nkusa Nkhoma has disclosed that Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report has projected that 2.6 million people require food assistance, according to a news report by Nyasa Times.

She said the food assistance would be required during the lean season from November 2020 to March 2021.

Nkhoma said the government through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners was finalizing the development of the 2020/2021 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Plan to mobilize resources and effectively coordinate the response to the food insecure communities.

The Deputy Minister said that some households are food insecure so the donation of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice by the Indian Government has come at the right

"The donation will complement the government’s efforts in mobilizing resources for the implementation of the 2020/2021 Food Insecurity Response Programme that will roll out in November 2020," she said.

Nkhoma expressed gratitude to the Indian government for the kind gesture at the time the Malawi government was urgently in need to provide humanitarian assistance to food-insecure communities. 

The Deputy Minister called upon the officers who would be involved in the distribution to uphold principles of transparency and accountability during the distribution exercise.

"I would like to request the beneficiary households to properly utilize the donated rice to benefit their household’s nutrition requirements," she added