The Arab Republic of Egypt through the Egyptian Agency of Partnership and Development (EAPD) has donated about K 19.5 million in a humanitarian gesture to help Malawi cope with the impending food crisis.
The donation comes as 17 per cent of the population (around 2.8 million) face severe food shortage in the lean period (October 2015 to March 2016) following prolonged dry spells and flooding in some parts of the country that led to a decline in production of maize and other food crops.
Egyptian Ambassador to Malawi, Maher El-Adawy said the donation is aimed at boosting food supplies distributed by the Department of Disaster and Management Affairs (DoDMA) to the people affected.
“The people of Malawi can always count on Egypt for sincere efforts towards development and prosperity. This gesture shows clear inclination for continued efforts by the people of Egypt to support Malawi,” Said El-Adawy.
According to figures from the World Food Organisation (WFO), 14 million people face hunger in Southern Africa due to the effects of El-Nino and Malawi will be worst hit, followed by Madagascar and Zimbabwe with nearly 2 million and 1.5 million people affected respectively.
Government of Malawi has since taken measures to address the food deficit. Vice President Saulos Chilima announced late last year that government had taken a drought insurance policy worth K 2.9 billion in premium.
Malawi has also bought 30,000 metric tonnes of Maize from Zambia which will be used to stabilise the price of commodity on the market.
