European Union commits K9 billion for hunger crisis
The European Union (EU), through its European Commission for Humanitarian and Civil Protection (ECHO) has provided 11.5 million euros (about K9.36 billion) to Malawi in response to the hunger crisis that has hit the country with 6.5 million in dire need of food.
The funds have been channelled through Save the Children and CARE, according to a statement from EU.
“Recognising the continued need to respond to the negative humanitarian impact of the El Niño phenomenon in Malawi, ECHO recently provided an additional €11.4 million in the form of grants to the World Food Programme (€5 million), Save the Children (€5 million) and CARE (€1.4 million),” the statement signed by Alexandre Castellano from ECHO reads.
EU has said Care and Save the Children will use the funds to scale up their ongoing ECHO interventions in food security by supporting the livelihoods of communities and enhancing their resilience to future climate shocks in a number of badly affected districts.
World Food Programme will use the funds for multipurpose cash transfers to ensure that adequate food consumption is maintained over an assistance period in order for households to have improved access to risk reducing assets.
“These ongoing and new activities will need the continued cooperation and solid support of all stakeholders, in particular, the Government of Malawi, if they are to succeed in breaking the cycle of perpetual humanitarian aid in times of climatic crisis,” says the statement.
Earlier this year, ECHO provided €2.95 million to Save the Children and CARE when 2.6 million people were declared food insecure. These funds were granted in response to the negative effects of the failed cropping season in mainly Southern Region Communities, with some affected communities in the Central Region.
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