By James Mwale

Ntchisi, February 25, Mana: At least 2,300 locals of Senior Chief Kalumo in Ntchisi district have received 50 kilogramme bag of maize flour each under the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) of the 2023/2024 Lean Season Food Insecurity Programme.

Speaking during the launch of the distribution exercise at Senior Chief Kalumo, Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) Deputy Director for Resilience, Hastings Mwanjoka, said the intervention is an indication of government’s commitment to making sure no one dies of hunger during the lean season.

“Government, through the World Bank funded initiative, is making sure that the most vulnerable and hunger stricken households get food relief. It will be unfortunate if any of the beneficiaries are found selling the relief food; and, if found, they will be taken to book,” he said.

He, therefore, urged authorities to make sure that only eligible beneficiaries receive the relief food items.

Chairperson for Ntchisi District Council, Arnold Kapolo, was thanked for the assistance describing it as timely.

He urged respective authorities to consider increasing the number of beneficiaries saying the current consignment was not enough to reach out to all vulnerable households in the district.

The maize flour distribution is supplementary to the maize and cash being distributed following the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report released in July 2023 which projected that at least 4.4 million would face hunger during the 2023/2024 lean period.

Over 12,000 households across all traditional authorities in Ntchisi are expected to benefit from the food relief distribution exercise.