US avails K17.25bn more food aid to Malawi
United States of America (USA) Ambassador Virginia Palmer has announced her government’s donation of $23 million (about K17.25 billion) to assist Malawians in need of humanitarian food aid.
The donation is in response to a Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) report that 6.5 million Malawians are in need of humanitarian food aid to alleviate suffering through March 2017.
It brings the US government’s total contribution to the 2016/17 Food Insecurity Response plan (Firp) to nearly $118 million (about K88.5 billion), representing 30 percent of the Plan’s $395 million (about K296.2 billion) estimated cost.
According to a statement from the US Embassy released yesterday, these funds will be channelled through the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) and $18 million (about K13.5 billion) of the $23 million will be used to help fill deficits in pulses and super cereal needed for the 2016/17 Firp.
The remaining $5 million (about K3.75 billion) will be used to purchase ready-to-use therapeutic food for people living with HIV currently on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), said the statement
“The latter is particularly important to preserve gains made to date in HIV treatment, as malnourished [people] tend to discontinue ART without access to food to ameliorate the treatment’s side effects,” reads part of the statement.
In her remarks when announcing the donation last week, Palmer said the US government continues to stand by Malawians in their time of need.
“Together we recognise that policy and market predictability are critical if Malawi’s farmers are to become entrepreneurs, if agribusinesses are to invest, and if Malawi is to transform its agriculture sector from a source of vulnerability into an engine for growth,” she said.
Malawi is currently faced with its worst hunger situation in recent years.
In April this year, President Peter Mutharika declared Malawi a State of National Disaster because of the prolonged dry spells during the 2015/2016 season and appealed to local and international well-wishers to assist the country mitigate the impact of the drought and floods. n
