Government has expressed optimism of raising K387 billion needed for the lean season food insecurity response plan although currently it faces a K140 billion deficit.
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha expressed this at a time the country has mobilised K247 billion out of the targeted K387 billion mid-way in the second month of the lean period which spans from October to March.
It follows the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) report that showed about four million people will face food insecurity this year and that it requires $220 million (K387 billion) to support the affected population.
Mwananvekha said: “Initially, we started with K387 billion, now we are almost at K140 billion. The difference will tell you how much we have mobilised.
Treasury Gerald Chiunda. | George Lumwira
“But I am quite certain because some governments and development partners are also committing and we are moving towards closing the gap so the amount we have mobilised is quite reasonable.”
Meanwhile, Mwanamvekha has said he is impressed with the country’s private sector response, where National Bank, First Capital Bank, Nico Holdings and NBS Bank have accumulatively contributed about K1 billion.
“What we are seeing is not just a donation, it is also a confirmation that as Malawians we can also work together as government, private sector and non-governmental organisations to achieve our priorities as a nation,” he said.
Nico Group board chairperson Elias Ngalande said the funds raised through their subsidiaries will be used to purchase maize in partnership with World Vision.
Ngalande said: “We are a financial group, we cater for different stakeholders and among those stakeholders are some of the vulnerable communities that government has identified as food-insecure. So we thought we should give back to the community.”
Last week, President Peter Mutharika appealed to the World Bank to consider giving Malawi additional support, although it earlier gave $45 million (K78.7 billion) for maize imports, saying government needs more support for its food response plan.
The President made the call when World Bank vice-president for Eastern and Southern Africa Ndiame Diop made a courtesy call on him at Mtunthama State Residence in Lilongwe.
Mutharika, who took over an economically-distressed government after the September 16 General Election, said although the bank has recently provided support for maize imports, the country still needs support to stabilise issues of forex, fuel, fertiliser and food.
He said: “We have agreed with them that they will assist with foreign exchange through projects like Mpatamanga and social cash transfers, which will help to improve the forex situation.”
In his remarks, Diop said the bank will help to fix the country’s foreign exchange issues, which he described as key to solving other challenges like fuel, fertiliser, food and pharmaceutical imports
However, Diop highlighted the need for Malawi to implement austerity measures announced last week to ensure economic recovery and stability.
Diop said: “We had successful discussions with government. We believe that when we assist on foreign exchange, then we are also helping to solve the other issues as the forex will be used to import fuel, fertiliser and medicines.
“We believe that the austerity measures are necessary although they will bring some pains.”
According to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report issued last month, at least four million Malawians are facing serious food shortages during the October 2025 to March 2026 lean season.
Mutharika declared a State of Disaster in 11 districts where people are at risk of extreme hunger and require immediate humanitarian assistance.
The affected districts are Blantyre, Chikwawa, Lilongwe, Mulanje, Mwanza, Neno, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Phalombe, Salima and Thyolo.
