By Linda Likomwa

Phalombe, August 7, Mana: Oxfam Malawi on Tuesday rolled out its first phase of El Nino induced food insecurity response targeting 12,000 people in the three districts of Phalombe, Mchinji and Lilongwe.

Speaking at Chidalale Evacuation Centre in Phalombe, Oxfam Malawi Country Director, Lingalireni Mihowa said Malawi has experienced droughts, floods and rising prices of food at the market which has led to food insecurity in many households.

“The sooner the vulnerable are assisted, the better because by doing so we would stop them from selling their assets. There is need for working decisively towards long term nutrition food strategies so that we break the cycle of food insecurity,” Mihowa said.

Mihowa appealed for more support to reach out to more households that have been affected, saying that in April this year government launched a US$36.5 million humanitarian appeal, noting that currently only US$11.6 million has been raised.

She said this is as a result of the fact that most countries are faced with conflicts, earthquakes, floods and droughts, occurrences which have contributed to donor dependence.

Mihowa noted that in 2019 Oxfarm raised enough funds which they used in reaching out to many households with support, adding that the situation is not the same this year; hence, appealed for communities to venture into viable economic activities that would help them support themselves instead of waiting for food aid from the donor community.

District Commissioner for Phalombe, Douglas Moffat said the hunger situation is severe in the district according to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report which estimates that almost 525, 000 people translating into 44 ,000 households were food insecure.

“Government through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) will from October to March this year distribute food to affected households, but Oxfam decided to be ahead by supporting 1, 075 households with cash transfer for families to buy food,” he said.

Moffat, however, emphasised the need for communities to follow weather updates by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services to avoid incidences of disasters which rendered most households food insecure following Tropical Cyclone Freddy and droughts.

One of the beneficiaries, Edna Mbendera from Ng’anjo Village in Traditional Authority Jenala thanked Oxfam for the support, saying the money would assist her to buy food for her family because one bag of maize she harvested was depleted four months ago.

In March this year, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in 23 out of the 28 districts that were affected by floods and droughts induced by El Nino phenomenon which left over four million people in dire need of food aid.

Oxfam has raised MK207 million and each household would receive MK50,000 cash transfer funded by the Irish Aid and Oxfam International.