Attachments
In Numbers
- 4.4 million Malawians (22 percent of the population) face acute food insecurity October 2023 – March 2024.
- USD 45.5 million six-month net funding requirements for WFP (February 2024 – July 2024)
- 51,391 refugees and asylum-seekers received cash assistance in January 2024
Strategic Outcome 1
- Lean Season Response: Food security in Malawi has deteriorated due to climate-related shocks, high prices and economic challenges. In the Government-led Lean Season Response Plan, USD 226 million is needed to address acute food security, with both cash and in-kind food transfers. This lean season (October 2023 to March 2024) sees 4.4 million people across 28 districts affected by food insecurity.
- WFP is currently providing support to Chikwawa, Nsanje and Phalombe, and has procured maize grain and flour from Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania for distribution.
- Refugees: WFP reviewed its Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with UNHCR and the Ministry of homeland Security to align it with WFP’s Country Strategic Plan 2024-2028.
- WFP Malawi faces a shortfall in funding for aiding refugees and asylum seekers. An estimated USD 3.5 million over the next six months is necessary to adequately assist 53,000 refugees from February to July 2024.
- WFP made cash transfers to 51,391 refugees in January 2024.
Strategic Outcome 2
- School feeding: WFP collaborated with the ministries of Agriculture, Education, and Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare for school and farmer groups assessments to prepare for the TSOLATA II project in northern Malawi; 200 schools are expected to participate in the Home-Grown School Feeding model.
- Nutrition: WFP engaged with the United Nations Joint Team on HIV to discuss the status of country envelope funds and snapshot joint plans for 2024.
- WFP also joined the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) Strategic Priority 3 Sub-Outputs discussions centred on human capital development, in preparation for the United Nations Joint Work Plan with the Government of Malawi.
Strategic Outcome 3
- Livelihoods: WFP has targeted 10,000 beneficiaries in the Cyclone Freddy recovery project to support communities affected by the cyclone in Chikwawa, Mulanje and Phalombe districts. Beneficiaries plant trees and construct soil and water conservation structures, among other activities.
- WFP has procured 300 mobile solar irrigation pumps to distribute to local farmers in eight districts of southern Malawi in order to enhance food production through irrigation.
- WFP collaborated with International Potato Center (CIP) and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to identify sites for demonstration plots for production of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and biofortified beans. This initiative will involve 100 smallholder farmers, 11 schools and 43 care groups that will host the demonstration plots.
Strategic Outcome 4
- Health Systems: WFP supported the Health Technical Support Services with a supply chain analytics dashboard and a decision-making meeting of the main stakeholders (Central Medical Stores Trust, Chemonics, Antimicrobial Resistance Coordination Committee) used the key performance indicators on the dashboards. A final report for support and supervision was submitted to Ministry of Health for circulation.
- Food Systems: Ministry of Agriculture requested WFP to support regional trainings of trainers for sesame production through the sesame platform (African Institute of Corporate Citizenship), scheduled for April. WFP also provided a heavy-duty generator at the National Food Reserve Agency.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: WFP hosted a Regional Emergency Preparedness Workshop in Lilongwe with participants from National Disaster Management Agencies and WFP country offices across the region. It highlighted challenges, solutions, and tools to improve emergency response in Southern Africa.
- Social protection: WFP supported development of the payment system for Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme beneficiaries under the National Local Government Finance Committee and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Department of Poverty Reduction and Social Protection.
- Adaptation programme: WFP developed radio programmes, disseminated weather forecasts, and sent SMS texts to beneficiaries. A visit to Chilore irrigation scheme in Balaka showed construction progress was at 75 percent.
- WFP supervised on-farm demonstrations in Machinga district, where the impact of Fall Army Worm and dry spells on crops was observed; farmers were advised to use botanicals, such as neem tree leaves, for worm control.
Strategic Outcome 5
- On demand service provision: The Government of Malawi and WFP signed an agreement for WFP to procure and transport approximately 23,000 mt of maize flour into Malawi for the ongoing lean season response.
- Transport and Logistics Cluster: WFP organised a National Logistics Cluster meeting involving relevant stakeholders for updates on emerging issues and preparedness efforts.