By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, September 6, Mana: Disaster Risk Management Officer for Mzuzu City Council, Precious Mandala Friday said about 56,000 people are expected to be targeted for the 2024/25 food insecurity response.

Mandala made the remarks in Mzuzu during an orientation of Mzuzu City Disaster Risk Management Committee and local structures at the ward level on beneficiary targeting and registration ahead of the food insecurity response which is expected to run from January to March 2025.

He said the council thought it wise to embark on timely preparation to reduce challenges that can be encountered during the exercise.

“Last year, the implementation of the response faced some challenges because we did not have enough time to prepare before rolling out the activity. With this approach, we hope challenges will be minimized,” said Mandala.

He said the training will help members to easily identify deserving beneficiaries since authorities have been equipped with parameters for one to benefit from the programme.

“We are however hopeful that in future council will have its own Universal Beneficiary Registry which would be used for various social support services,” he said.

Deputy Director for Disaster Response in the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Fyawupi Mwafongo said he expects the targeting process to be conducted in line with humanitarian aspects and parameters,

Chairperson for Mzuzu City Council Disaster Risk Management Committee, Evance Mwale commended DoDMA for organizing the orientation session which he said also covered areas of beneficiary verification, relief food distribution planning, management, grievance redress mechanisms and reporting.