Food shortage fears prompted the President of Malawi to declare a state of national disaster, on Wednesday 13th April.
As Temwa has been reporting over the last few months, Malawi has been experiencing the worst food crisis the country has seen. The communities Temwa serves have been hugely affected and in response Temwa is implementing a food distribution intervention. Without this, many of the most vulnerable households in the region would have witnessed serious cases of malnutrition and even death.
The President warned in a statement some people will need aid for the rest of this year, something that Temwa has been preparing for. Unfortunately, the north of the country is now being hit by flash flooding. This means that for many households who planted again after the first failure, their crops will now have been lost. We predict that this food crisis will continue throughout the year and into the next, with food shortages will become a more regular occurrence in Malawi. A claim supported by David Orr, World Food Programme, who told AFP news that the worst was still to come. This will take a long time to improve and it is unlikely that the north will see any improvements in the coming months after the flooding.
While there are a number of countries experiencing a food shortage in southern Africa, Malawi is considered the worst affected. Temwa will continue to work to do all it can. As mentioned, we have instigated an emergency food distribution intervention and are now looking to work on developing mitigation strategies to support our communities against droughts and floods that continue to increase and diminish food security of the community members we serve.
Temwa would like to thank all of those incredible people who have already donated to the emergency appeal. However, the situation is not going to go away. We will need to continue to food our community immediate, and longer-term, support to help them survive. Temwa will be continuing to fundraise to support this appeal. If you haven’t yet donated and spare something, however small, then please, please do, here.