Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) says about 2.6 million people in the southern African country need humanitarian food assistance.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Nkhoma, made this known while receiving 1,000 tonnes of rice, worth USS$ 700, from the Indian government.

Nkhoma said the food assistance would be required during the lean season from November 2020 to March 2021.

According to her, the government of Malawi, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners, is finalising the development of the 2020/2021 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Plan.

She called on the officers who would be involved in the distribution of the rice to uphold principles of transparency and accountability.

‘I would like to request the beneficiary households to properly utilise the donated rice to benefit their household’s nutrition requirements’, she said.

The Indian High Commissioner to Malawi, Anurag Bhushan, said the donation was a gesture of goodwill and friendship between the countries.

‘The donation is in support of the government of Malawi’s efforts to meeting the recent food shortage caused by acts of nature in the country’, Bhushan said.

He said India was actively engaged in supporting Malawi in achieving its development goals through various development schemes.

Source: Mana Online

Photo source: Mana Online