Attachments
In Numbers
31,026 mt of maize distributed for El Niño response
USD 1.8 million in cash-based transfers distributed for El Niño response
1.5 million people assisted for El Niño response
14.3 million six-month net funding requirements (February – July 2025) representing 27 percent of total requirements
Operational Updates
El Niño Response: WFP continues distributing food to support the Government of Malawi in addressing acute food shortages. So far, 31,000 metric tonnes of maize have been distributed to 1.5 million people.
Refugees: WFP continues providing critical cash-based transfers to refugees and asylum seekers in Dzaleka Refugee camp to purchase food. Due to logistical delays, the January contributions took place the first week of February. The number of refugees has increased to over 56,000, with numbers continuing to rise. Due to funding shortfalls, WFP has had to reduce the ration from 75 to 50 percent of monthly food needs starting from February 2025. Immediate funding is critical to ensure continued assistance for those in need.
Additionally, WFP supported Mozambican asylum seekers with food assistance, providing 3,500 households in Nsanje with emergency cash transfers amounting to USD 49,971 as well as distributing 87.5 mt of maize.
Nutrition: Data shows a sharp rise in malnutrition, with severe cases increasing by 23 percent from December 2023 (3,050) to December 2024 (3,762), and moderate cases surging by 178 percent from 1,358 to 3,782. WFP, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, continues providing Super Cereal Plus to treat moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in children aged 6-59 months. The programme has been expanded to include pregnant and breastfeeding women in seven districts as well as people living with HIV and tuberculosis patients in four districts. Since September 2024, 13,162 children have been treated for MAM in four districts.
School Meals: As part of the El Niño emergency response, WFP is distributing take-home rations to 89,000 learners and their families in 93 schools. Additionally, WFP continues to provide emergency hot meals to over 256,000 students in 199 schools until March 2025. Besides the emergency response, the overall Home-Grown School Feeding Programme has provided daily hot meals to 712,574 learners in January 2025.
Livelihoods: Under WFP’s integrated resilience programme, the final crop insurance cash distributions for the 2024/25 season have been completed in Balaka, Machinga, and Zomba. A total of MWK 8,360,200 was distributed to 457 beneficiaries who experienced yield losses due to adverse conditions. These payouts support immediate household needs, agricultural recovery, and economic stability, reinforcing resilience in the face of recurring shocks. With this, the 2024/25 payout cycle is officially concluded.
Food Systems: The Government of Japan has contributed USD 1 million to support a sesame export promotion project in Malawi. This funding will strengthen the Malawi Bureau of Standards' capacity to enforce quality standards for sesame exports, enabling smallholder farmers to access higher-value markets, increase their incomes, and improve their livelihoods. Additionally, WFP, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and LUANAR’s CARD, is finalising a Value Chain and Market System Analysis for sesame, cowpeas, and sorghum. Insights from this analysis will help shape policies and interventions that strengthen market linkages for smallholder farmers.
Health Supply Chain: This month, WFP continued supporting supply chain dashboards and decision-making processes to enhance efficiency and data-driven planning. In January, the antibiotics team updated the dashboard, marking a key step towards sustainability and strengthening national capacity in health supply chain management. As part of the Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods project, WFP joined the kick-off workshop and reviewed the workplan to support the Ministry of Health’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). This collaboration aims to improve vaccine distribution and access, strengthening Malawi’s immunisation efforts.
Emergency Preparedness and Response: To strengthen flood emergency response, WFP supported the National Search and Rescue (SAR) Cluster in training boat operators for the cyclone season through on-the-water exercises and preparedness drills. Throughout January, over 50 government boat operators participated in SAR readiness activities at the Humanitarian Staging Area (HSA) in Bangula, Nsanje District, where WFP manages a fleet of boats prepositioned on the Shire River.
Transport and Logistics Cluster: As co-lead of the transport and logistics cluster, WFP is supporting the Government in transporting maize for the El Niño emergency response. In January, WFP transported 2,410 mt of maize from the national Strategic Grain Reserve to affected communities on behalf of the Government. So far, this lean season, WFP has supported the government with transportation of 18,546 mt of government maize.
On Demand Services: WFP and the Government of Malawi have signed an agreement to import 48,000 metric tons of maize, valued at US$ 35 million and funded by the World Bank Group, to address emergency food needs in the country. WFP will procure and transport the maize from Tanzania to Malawi to meet emergency food needs following the El Niño drought.
The Government of Malawi will distribute the food to approximately 954,000 households for two months.