World Food Programme (WFP) has flagged dwindling humanitarian resources as a major challenge hampering Malawi’s preparedness for the anticipated El Niño conditions despite improvements in the country’s response planning.
WFP deputy country director Bernard Owadi said during an El Niño simulation exercise in Bangula, Nsanje on Friday that Malawi has improved in terms of preparedness compared to previous El Niño episodes, with response tools and plans in place, but funding remained a major challenge.
He said the challenge is due to declining humanitarian resources globally as such the country needed additional support to meet its preparedness and response requirements.
“In terms of preparedness, yes, the tools are in place, but resources remain a big challenge. The country is working against the backdrop of reduced resources due to declining humanitarian resources globally. This is despite the fact that the country needs more resources,” said Owadi.
Malawi enters the November 2026 to March 2027 growing season amid heightened risks of rainfall deficits associated with the developing El Niño.
The Malawi Government preliminary preparedness plan shows that the country needs about K488.5 billion to prepare for the weather phenomenon. But as of September, K163.7 billion was mobilised, leaving a funding gap of K324.8 billion.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) Commissioner Wilson Moleni, in an interview, could not indicate how much additional funding was mobilised since September, but said there was no cause for concern as government was working to mobilise the required resources.
Commenting on the simulation exercise, he said the exercise was important in testing coordination among response agencies, the movement of relief supplies, pre-positioning of essential items, warehouse capacity and other logistical arrangements.
Key preparedness measures include securing 440 000 metric tonnes of maize to strengthen national food reserves, improving livestock resilience, investing in drought insurance and water security, and pre-positioning essential supplies.
The energy sector is also considered vulnerable; as below-normal rainfall could affect water levels needed for hydropower generation.
During the 2023/24 El Niño season, maize production declined by about 22.7 percent, while millions of Malawians subsequently faced acute food insecurity.
However, the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee’s annual report released in August projects that about 2.6 million people, representing 14 percent of the projected population, will face hunger during the 2026/27 consumption period.
This is a decline from about four million people, or 22 percent of the population, projected to face hunger during the 2025/26 consumption period.
Meanwhile, National Food Reserve Agency chief executive officer Bruce Munthali said the agency was targeting to procure 300 000 metric tonnes of maize using a K100 billion government allocation to strengthen national food reserves.
In an interview on Thursday, he said the agency was sourcing maize from local farmers and suppliers through the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc), mega-farmers and the Greenbelt Authority.
“Our biggest task is basically to buy enough stocks. Currently, our procurement operations are still continuing. We are looking at almost 300 000 metric tonnes which needs to be acquired to meet the effects of El Niño. So that is quite a significant amount and it cannot just be made overnight,” he said.
The simulation exercise was designed to test the country’s preparedness for El Niño by allowing government departments and humanitarian partners to assess whether their response plans could work when the weather phenomenon strikes.
The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services projects a strong-to-very-strong El Niño episode that could persist into 2027, bringing below-normal rainfall across much of southern and central Malawi.
The anticipated weather pattern could result in delayed and erratic planting rains, fewer rainy days and prolonged dry spells, particularly between December and March.
