Business NewsFront Page

 Household welfare deteriorates—survey

Results from the Rapid Feedback Monitoring System show a severe deterioration in household welfare across southern Malawi as assistance to households dwindle.

According to data published in the January 2025 Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM), in August 2024, four-in-10 families reported eating fewer than two meals per day, while three-in -10 reported eating fewer than two meals during the same period in the previous year.

Reads the MEM in part: “In March 2024, shortly after the peak period for food insecurity, around 70 percent of households reported not receiving any form of support, while 16 percent received cash, 10 percent received food, and 4 percent received both..”

This is happening at a time the country has experienced a poor harvest following a protracted drought, high rates of food-price inflation, and diminished income opportunities.

Consequently, World Bank data shows that between October 2024 and March 2025, an estimated 5.7 million people, or 28 percent of the population, will face crisis-level food insecurity.

Meanwhile, faith-based economic think-tank, Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) has urged the government to address maize price volatility, which is compounding the cost of living crisis, averaging K578 843 per month for a household of six.

CfSC argued that for many Malawians, maize constitutes over 50 percent of daily food intake, as such any price increase directly reduces household food security and forces families to compromise on other essential needs such as healthcare, education and housing.

The organisation said significant increases in the cost of living and elevated price of maize, which is at about K75 000 per 50 kilogramme bag, has exacerbated economic hardships, particularly for low-income earners who rely on maize as their staple food.

In an interview, Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said “the majority of consumers are struggling.”

As par t of the food component, maize contributes about 53.7 percent to the consumer price index, an aggregate basket of consumer goods and services used to compute inflation.

This means that any movement in the price of maize has a direct bearing on consumers.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button