By Tione Andsen
Lilongwe, October 26, Mana: Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report has projected that 2.6 million people as requiring humanitarian food assistance.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Nkusa Nkhoma disclosed this Monday in Lilongwe during official handover ceremony of 1,000 tonnes of rice from Indian Government.
She said the food assistance would be required during the lean season from November, 2020 to March 2021.
Nkhoma said government through Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners was finalizing the development of the 2020/2021 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Plan to mobilize resources and effectively coordinate the response to the food insecure communities.
The Deputy Minister said the donation of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice by Indian Government has come at the right time when some households are food insecure.
“The donation will complement government’s efforts in mobilizing resources for the implementation of the 2020/2021 Food Insecurity Response Programme that will roll out in November, 2020,” she said.
Nkhoma expressed gratitude to Indian government for the kind gesture at the time Malawi government was urgently in need to provide humanitarian assistance to food insecure communities.
The Deputy Minister called up on the officers who would be involved in the distribution to uphold principles of transparency and accountability during distribution exercise.
“I would like to request the beneficiary households to properly utilize the donated rice to benefit their household’s nutrition requirements,” she added.
Indian High Commissioner to Malawi, Anurag Bhushan said the donation was gesture of goodwill and friendship between India and Malawi.
He said this timely donation of rice would go a long way in supporting Malawians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bhushan added that, “The donation is in support of government of Malawi’s efforts to meeting the recent food shortage caused by acts of nature in the country.”
He said government of India was actively engaged in supporting government of Malawi in achieving its development goals through various development schemes, gifts and grants.
The High Commissioner said the donation was another prominent milestone in furthering the goodwill and friendship between the two countries.
The 1,000 metric tonnes of Rice is worth USS$ 700,00.
