The Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (Cadecom) under the Mzuzu Diocese has rolled out an emergency hunger response project to aid 400 vulnerable families in Mzimba District with cash transfers.
Speaking on Friday when they briefed Mzimba District Executive Committee (DEC) members, Cadecom Mzuzu diocesan coordinator Daniel Zimba said the targeted families will receive K100 000 each to buy food.
He said: “This hunger response intervention follows the 2023 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report that projected that 153 000 people will be food-insecure in the district during the current lean season.
“So, we have received K475 million from the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund to implement the emergency cash transfer intervention.
“About K40 million will be disbursed in Mzimba District and that they will work with the council and local leaders to identify beneficiaries.”
M’Mbelwa District Council social welfare officer responsible for Social Cash Transfer Programme Shadreck Mingo commended the project, saying it will complement government’s efforts in providing relief food to vulnerable households.
He said they will provide names of food-insecure households to benefit from the emergency response.
Said Mingo: “We experienced prolonged dry spells last growing season and people did not produce enough to feed their families.
“These families need support and we urge other partners to emulate the example set by Cadecom.”
Recently, about 34 000 food-insecure families in Mzimba received relief maize government through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) is distributing.
Mzimba is also among the 12 districts in the country to start receiving maize flour imported from Tanzania and South Africa.
According to Dodma, each household will receive a 50 kilogramme of maize flour.
Dodma rolled out the implementation of the 2023/24 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme in October 2023.
