Attachments
Highlights:
- Malawi faced overlapping health emergencies, climate shocks, and economic challenges, leaving 5.7 million people, including 2.9 million children, in the need of humanitarian assistance.
- Cholera persisted with a 4.9 per cent case fatality rate, while Mpox and measles outbreaks surged, straining the health system and highlighting the need for stronger control measures.
- Acute food insecurity affected up to 5.7 million people and severe wasting worsened across 11 districts, UNICEF responded by ensuring uninterrupted last-mile delivery of life-saving nutrition supplies, enabling treatment for 47,644 children with severe wasting.
- UNICEF’s WASH response reached 128,500 people with essential hygiene items, provided safe water to 55,900 people across five districts, and improved sanitation for 36,569 people.
- Through UNICEF support more than 107,000 crisis affected children sustained uninterrupted learning in 2025, safeguarding continued access to education and preventing further learning loss amid ongoing humanitarian shocks.
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SITUATION OVERVIEW ANDHUMANITARIAN NEEDS
In 2025, Malawi faced a complex humanitarian situation marked by overlapping health emergencies, climate shocks, and economic challenges that deepened vulnerabilities. Disease outbreaks, including cholera, Mpox, and measles, strained an already fragile health system, while erratic rainfall and cyclone-related damage disrupted agriculture, driving widespread food insecurity and rising malnutrition.
Disease outbreaks
Cholera
A cholera outbreak that began on 8 September 2024 persisted into 2025, registering 309 cases including 15 deaths by the time it ended in June 2025. The outbreak resulted in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.9 per cent, which is significantly higher than the WHO threshold of 1 per cent. The outbreak affected 15 districts of the 29 health districts, with hot spots concentrated in areas with limited access to safe water and sanitation. On 11 December, new cases of cholera emerged, and on 28 December, the Government of Malawi declared a cholera outbreak with 14 confirmed cases being reported across seven districts by 31 December 2025. Contributing factors included inadequate WASH infrastructure, population movements, and delayed health-seeking behavior. Increasing food insecurity is also compounding these vulnerabilities, as households facing shortages often struggle to maintain safe water and hygiene practices, further elevating the risk of cholera transmission
Mpox, Measles and Rubella
Mpox emerged as another concern, with the first case reported in April. By year-end, 144 confirmed cases (excluding four cross-border), one death, and a CFR of 0.7 per cent were recorded across 12 districts. Males accounted for 54 per cent of cases, children for 30 per cent. Measles and rubella also surged, with 1,515 cases reported by mid-December, 264 per cent above expected levels, mostly in the Southern region, signaling urgent need for intensified control measures in 2026.
Food Insecurity and Nutrition
The year opened with 5.7 million people facing acute food insecurity (January–March). Although the April/May harvest offered temporary relief, conditions remained critical from October 2025, with 4 million people (22 per cent) classified in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3, Crisis, including 8,000 people in IPC Phase 4, Emergency. Key drivers of deteriorating food security included erratic rainfall and cyclone related damage, which reduced maize production by 22 per cent; the termination of IMF support, contributing to inflation and currency depreciation; and sustained increases in maize prices, further limiting household purchasing power.
Between January and September, severe acute malnutrition (SAM) admissions rose by 20 per cent (40,364 vs. 33,728 in 2024), while moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) surged 69 per cent (41,660 vs. 24,618). Eleven districts exceeded severe wasting projections, with the highest increases in Neno (135 per cent), Nsanje (123 per cent), and Chikwawa (97 per cent). These trends underscored the urgent need for targeted interventions in high-burden districts and strengthened food security and health systems.
Floods
While flood impacts were lower than in previous years, 41,315 households (185,918 people) were affected by sudden-onset hazards during the rainy season (October 2024–April 2025), including Cyclones Jude and Chido. Cyclone Jude (March) affected 7,265 households, displaced 5,155 people, and caused nine injuries and two deaths. Despite reduced impacts, disaster preparedness and infrastructure improvements remain critical.
Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs)
Between December 2024 and April 2025, Malawi hosted forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) from Mozambique, following post-election violence in their country. A total of 3,898 households, comprising 7,904 individuals, were accommodated across the districts of Nsanje, Dedza, Mulanje, and Mwanza. As the situation in Mozambique stabilized, voluntary repatriation efforts were carried out in March and April 2025, leading to the official closure of all hosting camps by the end of April.
In summary, converging shocks in 2025, health emergencies, food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate hazards, highlighted the urgent need for coordinated, multi-sectoral interventions to protect lives, strengthen resilience, and prevent further deterioration of humanitarian conditions.