The 2023 Global hunger Index (GHI) in Malawi has revealed that the country is facing serious hunger levels.
The index, which was released in Lilongwe on Wednesday, has ranked Malawi on position 88 out of 125 countries assessed in the index.
With a score of 21.1, Malawi is considered to have serious hunger levels.
The GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional and country levels.
GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger.
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The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger, provide a way to compare levels of hunger between countries and regions, and call attention to areas of the world where hunger levels are highest and where the need for additional efforts to eliminate hunger is greatest.
Presenting the report, Welthungerhilfe’s Head of Programmes Claudia Plock said the fight against hunger has stagnated in many countries in recent years since 2016.
She said various shocks such as Covid, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine War and others have affected progress in the fight.
Youth Minister Uchizi Mkandawire said Malawi is facing severe levels of hunger as demonstrated in the forecast of the 2023-24 IPC report, which indicates that 5.2 million people will face severe hunger this lean season.
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He said young people are emerging into adulthood in a context of unequal and unsustainable food systems that fail to deliver food and nutrition security and are highly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation.
According to Mkandawire, youths not only suffer from failures of current food systems but also stand to inherit such troubled food systems and their looming challenges.
“Despite this realisation, the youth in Malawi continue to be under represented in food systems’ thinking and yet they possess diverse skills and labour to help reverse some of the challenges that we are facing.
“In regards to overall development thinking, youth engagement has been very minimal with no meaningful impact on their lives and has failed to fully address their needs,” Mkandawire said.
