By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, September 18, Mana: At least 51, 800 households in Balaka district stand to benefit from the 2024 – 2025 lean season programme, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has revealed.

Briefing the full council members on Wednesday, an official from DoDMA, Annie Mapulanga said following the El Nino impacts that the country faced, the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report indicated that 233, 101 people which represents 51, 800 families do not have enough food to sustain themselves for a year in Balaka.

“We are responsible to respond to the food situation in the country. In Balaka, it will be a 50 kilogrammes of maize, which will be given for five months to households.

“We have secured resources for two months only for Balaka, which the World Food Programme (WFP) has sub granted Find Your Feet to help in the distribution of the relief food,” she said.

Mapaulanga added: “We could not wait to finish up the processes to all the five months considering that people are struggling with no food to eat, which is why we opted to start distributing even though we do not have the cover for all the five months.”

According to Mapulanga, all beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer will automatically be included in the programme because of their vulnerability.

Mapulanga pointed out that the maize was specifically to benefit a household and the community leaders are discouraged from asking beneficiaries to share the maize with anyone.

Member of Parliament for Balaka North, Tony Ngalande hailed government through the WFP for the timely assistance, saying Balaka is one dry area which makes it prone to disasters almost annually.

“Let me urge the implementing partner to consider distributing the relief maize at Group Village Head level than T/A because doing so will be simple as it will avoid missing out deserving people,” he said.

However, Ngalande bemoaned the tendency of sideling political leaders in the programme, saying they are equally instrumental in lobbying for such interventions in parliament.

Countrywide at least 5, 692, 112 people in 28 districts of Malawi are food insecure and require food assistance ranging from three months and the hardest hit requiring six months food assistance.