Malawi to receive K7bn for hunger response
The United Nations (UN) Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf) has allocated $4 million (about K7 billion) to Malawi to address urgent humanitarian needs caused by the El Niño-induced drought.
The funding is part of $100 million which the UN through Cerf released on Friday to address critical underfunding of humanitarian emergencies across 10 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.
In a statement, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya said Cerf funding was an emergency cash injection of last resort to avert the worst and save lives when other humanitarian funding is inadequate.
“We urgently need increased and sustained donor attention to these underfunded crises,” she said.
United Nations Malawi said in a post on its Facebook page that the support to Malawi will enable the UN and its partners to step up the provision of life-saving assistance to communities affected by the El Niño-induced drought.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) commissioner Charles Kalemba said last week that the department has raised $240 million (about K420 billion), representing 70 percent of resources needed to implement hunger response.
In March this year, President Lazarus Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in 23 of the country’s 28 districts after prolonged dry spells severely damaged crops.
