Skip to main content

WFP Malawi Country Brief, September 2020

Countries
Malawi
Sources
WFP
Publication date

In Numbers

5,783 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Malawi (as 05 October 2020)

USD 59.4 million six-month (October 2020–March 2021) net funding requirements

41,000 refugees assisted with food and cash distributions

Strategic Outcome 1

Refugees: To limit exposure for beneficiaries and staff, WFP has moved to f bi-monthly food distributions to the 41,000 beneficiaries in Dzaleka Camp. Food items (beans and vegetable oil) were distributed while cash-based transfers for the cereal component of the food basket were done through bank transfers via MyBucks, a financial service provider in the camp, which can be accessed/withdrawn at each participant’s own convenience.

Lean Season Response: The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report for the 2020/2021 lean season was officially endorsed by the Government in September and is now available for dissemination. A total of 2.6 million people are projected to be in need of food assistance as early as November 2020. All the analysed cities (Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba), along with the three rural districts of Nsanje, Neno and Balaka, will likely be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3), while the remaining areas are likely to be in Stressed (IPC Phase 2).

Strategic Outcome 2

School Feeding: Schools have been closed since March 2020 due to COVID-19. As such, 600,000 learners have been missing out on daily school meals provided by WFP. In response, in May 2020, WFP started providing take-home rations to some 550,000 learners in seven districts. As of 07 September, schools started to reopen gradually, with students in their final years resuming classes to sit for their exams before all classes can resume on 12 October. WFP will continue to provide take-home rations for school meals for the remainder of 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within schools, following the advice by the Ministry of Education to partners implementing school feeding programmes.

Social Protection: WFP is continuing its technical support to the Government to strengthen the social protection system in responding to shocks – both COVID-19 and the lean season.

Strategic Outcome 3

Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment: WFP continued to support the implementation of nutrition activities using various media channels such as radio programmes and jingles, social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) talking walls, drama sessions, mobile vans, and public address systems. Messages on maternal and infant and young child nutrition in the context of COVID-19 in seven districts reached an estimated 2.7 million people.COVID-19 and food safety awareness raising was also extended to markets through the SUN Business Network (SBN). WFP supported orientations on COVID-19 prevention and food safety to market focal points, while SBN provided personal protective equipment (PPEs) and hygiene materials to selected health facilities and markets in six districts.