Plan Malawi, in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP), will from November this year implement the food and transfer cash scheme to over 11 000 vulnerable households in Karonga.
Plan Malawi disaster risk reduction and response manager Tambuzgani Msiska said this during a meeting with Karonga District Civil Protection Committee (DCPC) members recently.
He said the response is in line with findings by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) released in August this year which indicated that unlike previous years, 17 per cent of the population (2.8 million people) will be unable to meet their annual food requirements.
He said those to benefit from the response are from Lupembe and Mpata extension planning areas (EPAs) in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kyungu, Nyungwe EPA in T/A Mwirang`ombe and Vinthukutu EPA in T/A Wasambo’s area.
“The exercise is expected to start in November this year to March in 2016, and beneficiaries from T/As Kyungu and Wasambo will receive cash through banks, while those from T/A Mwirang`ombe will receive food items.
“However, not all people in the said areas would benefit from the response as beneficiaries to the response must meet the following criteria: they own less than two acres of land, are unable to hire out land both for food and cash, do not own major common livestock, and do not earn any formal wage, among others,” said Msiska.
The response is sponsored by partners such as UKaid, USaid, Brazil, Italy, and Malawi government.
