The World Food Programme (WFP) says it is searching for $70 million (about K120 billion) to bail out two million people who are facing hunger due to El Niño-induced drought.
This follows President Lazarus Chakwera’s declaration of a State of Disaster on March 23 this year.
WFP Country Representative Paul Turnbull says, in a news release issued by the United Nations agency’s communications department in Lilongwe, that El Niño impacts would hit Malawians hard.
“The impact is huge and so are the needs. We can avert a hunger catastrophe for the hardest hit families, but time is not on our side. I’m calling on the international community to step up now and help us save lives,” Turnbull said.
The El Niño impact is exacerbating the devastating effects of the climate crisis in Malawi.
The country is still suffering from the impacts of tropical storms and cyclones in 2022 and 2023.
Prolonged dryspells have damaged crops in Southern and Central Region districts while flooding has washed away crops in Northern and some parts of the Central Region.
On March 23, Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in 23 out of Malawi’s 28 districts affected by El Niño conditions.
The government’s preliminary assessment indicates that close to two million farming households and 749,000 hectares, representing 44 percent of the national crop area, have been affected.
As a result, the onset of the 2024-25 lean season is anticipated to be earlier and more severe than usual.
WFP will cover part of the food assistance requirements and is seeking the $70 million to provide emergency food assistance to two million people for three months, delivering a combination of in-kind and cash to affected households.
