A Malawi food situation report has indicated that the government and development partners have secured around 40 percent of the funds required for the 2023-24 Lean Season Response Programme (LSRP) as it seeks to bail out those left destitute by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
The government-led response plan requires $226 million to address acute food security, with both cash and in-kind transfers as transfer modalities.
It started implementing the lean season response plan in October last year, with the initiative set to run to March this year, targeting 4.4 million people across all the 28 districts of the country.
According to the report by Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net), the commencement of humanitarian assistance has improved the livelihood of people in several Southern Region districts, whichwere heavily impacted by Cyclone Freddy and subsequent flooding.
- Advertisement -
“The LSRP remains underfunded, with only about 40 percent of the required resources for the programme so far secured or pledged. According to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), the programme also has a 109,700mt [metric tonnes] maize deficit, as the government pledged only 30,000mt of maize for humanitarian responses.
- Advertisement -
“Despite the shortfalls, humanitarian assistance in the form of food or cash has commenced in several southern districts severely affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy,” the report reads.
The report, which was released on December 28, further indicates that economic conditions in Malawi are worsening, with very high inflation and a shortage of foreign exchange negatively impacting households’ access to food and basic non-food commodities.
“Prices for maize, the main staple, and other alternative foods such as rice and beansremain very high compared to the previous year and the five-year average. Between October and November 2023, month-on-month maize prices in Fews Net–monitored markets remained stable in eight markets and registered increases ranging from 5 to 10 percent in four of the monitored markets,” it says.
Maize prices ranged from K650 to K800 per kilogramme by the end of November 2023.
- Advertisement -
Dodma spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said they planned to distribute 164,000mt of maize, which is being taken from the National Food Reserve Agency and partners.
In an interview yesterday, Khamula said the food distribution exercise is going on well.
“[But] we are yet to compile a report of how much has been distributed so far but distribution is still underway,” Khamula said.
Commenting on the issue yesterday, government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu said there are a number of avenues through which the issue of food security is being addressed.
“Ultimately, what the government wants to achieve is food security for all Malawians and this is on course,” he said.
Meanwhile, a projected outlook for months up to May 2024 indicates that El Niño conditions are likely to result in below-average harvests in rainfall-deficit areas, especially in some parts of the Southern and Central regions.
