Attachments
Operational Updates
• Emergency lean season response: Latest IPC results indicate that 4 million people (one in five) are projected to face crisis level (IPC Phase 3) food insecurity and 8,000 in emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4) between October 2025 and March 2026. On 25 October, the President declared a State of Disaster in 11 of Malawi’s 28 districts. The Government has since launched a 2025-2026 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme targeting about four million people nationwide.
• WFP aims to assist 1.9 million people during the emergency lean season response, however, funding challenges persist, WFP requires USD 76 million for a 4-month response in nine districts facing high food insecurity.
• Refugees: Dzaleka refugee camp hosts around 60,000 refugees, with 400 new arrivals and 150 births monthly. WFP provides monthly food assistance through cash-based transfers. Due to funding gaps, refugees are receiving only 50 percent of recommended calorie needs. In partnership with UNHCR and the Department for Refugees, WFP is raising awareness of available assistance and ensuring access to community feedback mechanisms.
• Nutrition: The I/NGO Humanitarian Committee has issued an urgent Nutrition Call to Action due to persistently high stunting, rising acute malnutrition, and declining household access to nutritious diets. Nutrition services remain uneven and at risk. The Call urges stronger coordination and expansion of community-based services to safeguard child growth, learning, and long-term development. In response, the Ministry of Health, with WFP and UNICEF, continues supporting management of acute malnutrition. In October, WFP reached 18,019 children with specialized nutritious foods to address moderate acute malnutrition, achieving an 87 percent recovery rate.
• School Meals: WFP supported the Ministry of Education and partners from non-state actors and the donor community in reviewing the school meals expansion roadmap. The meeting also focused on aligning country commitments to the Global School Meals Coalition and adopting Terms of Reference for the National Taskforce on school feeding expansion. WFP’s participation in the meeting reaffirmed its commitment to ending malnutrition by strengthening national school feeding systems.