Food Crisis Response

13 October 2023

Background

Following reports that 4.4 million people in Malawi will face food insecurity between now and March ’24, the Government of Malawi has begun distributing maize.

Twenty-three tonnes of maize is being provided to the worst affected communities with a needs-assessment predicting that districts will face between two and six months of acute food shortages.

Malawi’s Department of Disaster Preparedness says the immediate food crisis is the result of a combination of factors including the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in the Southern and Central Regions disrupting food production, drought due to El Nino in the North, the long-term impacts of Covid and the significant cost of living increases.

Forty million dollars has been provided to Malawi by the World Bank to provide cash transfers to Malawi citizens in greatest need, but there still remains a significant shortfall in being able to respond to this urgent situation and to provide agricultural support for longer-term food production. If SMP Members or their partners have any information they would like to share on the food crisis, please do contact us: Stuart@scotland-malawipartnership.org