Chakwera scales up feeding the hungry: 4.5 million of targeted 5.7 million hunger-stricken reached with relief food

President Lazarus Chakwera’s government has made significant progress in addressing the nation’s food insecurity crisis, reaching 4.5 million people with relief maize as part of its Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme.

Moses Chimphepo, Director of Preparedness and Response at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), announced the milestone in Salima District, where final maize distributions are being executed. The initiative aims to assist 5.7 million individuals affected by hunger, with 39,000 metric tonnes (mt) of maize provided by the government and an additional 11,000mt contributed by partners like the World Food Programme (WFP).

“We commenced this maize distribution exercise in the Southern Region in September. We are glad to say that processes are going on well,” Chimphepo said, while urging beneficiaries not to sell the distributed maize and reaffirming the government’s commitment to reaching all affected people.

A Regional Perspective on Disaster Management
Malawi’s food crisis, exacerbated by Tropical Cyclone Freddy and El Niño-induced dry spells, underscores the importance of regional collaboration. During the Southern Africa Regional Preparedness Workshop held in Namibia, stakeholders from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), WFP Malawi, and disaster management authorities from neighboring countries emphasized the need for joint efforts to address regional vulnerabilities.

WFP Malawi Deputy Country Director Simon Denhere stressed the benefits of cross-border partnerships in disaster response. “If we have strong collaboration between us as countries and agencies, it becomes easier to address sudden disasters as a region than as a country,” he noted.

Sadc Humanitarian Operations Centre Director Anderson Banda echoed these sentiments, pointing out the trans-border nature of many disasters in the region and advocating for enhanced collaboration.

Building Disaster Preparedness
Chimphepo emphasized the importance of prepositioning resources to improve disaster response efficiency. “When we have resources prepositioned across the country, it becomes very easy to respond to sudden disasters than it is to start transporting resources when the disasters have already happened,” he said.

As Malawi continues its maize distribution program, the government remains focused on reaching the remaining hunger-stricken individuals while strengthening disaster preparedness to mitigate future crises.

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