WFP kick-start food distribution in Malawi

World Food Program and Malawi government have launched a national relief food distribution exercise to about 3 million hungry stricken Malawians recently affected by floods and dry spell. [caption id="attachment_95940" align="alignright" width="600"] Sande --second from right and WFP country director Coco Ushiyama --centre[/caption] [caption id="attachment_95939" align="alignright" width="600"] Sande --second from right and WFP country director Coco Ushiyama --centre[/caption] This comes after President Peter Mutharika made international aid appeal for the affected Malawians in 25 of the country's 28 districts. The WFP country director, Coco Ushiyama said the move is part of the organization’s  commitment to the humanitarian drive that seek  to save lives and livelihoods and to protect food and nutrition security to those affected. “We have different tools to support this goal as you’ll see today with food transfers from TA Kasisi and with cash transfers from TA Lundu. We are providing cash-based assistance in areas where markets are still functioning and in-kind food assistance where people cannot access functional markets, but still desperately require food assistance to avert worsening malnutrition.” The food items include 50kg bags of maize, maize flour, cooking oil and peas while K14, 000 cash is given in cash to those in areas inaccessible to food markets. Ushiyama said development partners that have contributed to this response include the US, UK, ECHO, Ireland, Norway, Brazil and Italy, as well as the Government of Malawi which is donating about 30 percent of our required maize for the response. Secretary for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs in Malawi Bernard Sande said government will make sure that no one dies of hunger.