UN mobilising resources for flood disaster
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) says it is mobilising resources for the disaster declared by President Peter Mutharika in flood-affected districts of the country last week.
WFP says it is working with government and other humanitarian partners in moving to flooded areas stocks of food from its regular programmes that will be replenished once the crisis is over.
Reads a WFP statement made available to The Nation: “A government-led agriculture and food security humanitarian cluster has been activated to help coordinate the response. Initial estimates suggest that as many as 20 000 households [or 110 000 people] have been displaced. Many more are likely to require assistance. With more rain forecast, there is concern that these numbers may rise.”
WFP said it is planning an airlift of more than 100 metric tons of high-energy biscuits from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai to meet the immediate food needs of 77 000 people.
The statement said ready-to-eat food will also be prioritised for the most vulnerable people, particularly children, who have been displaced from their homes and have no access to food or cooking facilities.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and has one of the highest rates of stunting among children worldwide. More than 40 percent of children are stunted (have low growth for their age) as a result of undernutrition. Last year, WFP reached some four million people with food assistance in Malawi.
In a related development, the Office of the Vice-President said on Sunday that deployment of Malawi Defence Force (MDF) helicopters and boats has boosted the search and rescue operations with helicopters alone so far rescuing 307 people while 1 264 have been evacuated using boats.
