Malawi: The Government of Malawi through support from various organizations has started distributing maize flour targeting 1.8 million food-insecure people. Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu presided over the maize flour distribution exercise.
The launch event for the 2023/24 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme at Chilangoma and Andiseni in Blantyre on Saturday. During the launch of the donation exercise, the Minister spoke about the government’s committment to ensuring food security.
The government of Malawi has enlisted help from various partners the continental level to curb the issue of hunger.
Minister Moses Kunkuyu said, “We are expecting to receive 23,000 metric tonnes of maize flour from Tanzania and South Africa and so far, the first consignment of 1400 metric tonnes have arrived in the country which we are now distributing to the targeted 397,778 households.”
The people of the country have appreciated the government’s efforts for the benefit of the people. The districts which were in focus during the distribution included:
- Blantyre
- Chiradzulu
- Lilongwe
- Machinga
- Mangochi
- Mulanje
- Mzimba
- Thyolo
- Dowa
- Karonga
- Ntchisi
- Chitipa
“It is the wish of President Lazarus Chakwera who is the Minister responsible for Disaster and Management Affairs to see that no one dies of hunger,” he said.
The minister then warned people to not take advantage of the distribution of the exercise and make undue profits. If anyone is found participating in the exercise illegelally, they would face legal repercussions of their actions.
Further, Minister Kunkuyu also advised the beneficiaries not to sell the maize flour but use it for the intended purpose. In many cases, the beneficiaries can be seen selling the government funded donation for monetary profits.
“Any beneficiary who sells this flour will be struck off from the list of beneficiaries forthwith; and reported to security personnel for further action,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Kunkuyu commended various governments and humanitarian partners for their support of the initiative, The minister specifically thanked the World Bank, for providing financial support for procuring maize flour, and World Food Programme (WFP).
The minister thanked the orgnizations for assisting government in providing logistical arrangements for the importation of the maize flour. WFP country representative Paul Turnbull also delivered brief remarks at the event.
Turnbull described the food distribution exercise as a significant milestone in the organization’s efforts. The aim of the initiative is to alleviate the plight of vulnerable people who urgently require food assistance.
“Access to food is a fundamental human right, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no one is deprived of this necessity. Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to build more resilient Malawi as we strive to achieve Zero Hunger goal by 2030,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Fanny Luka from Kuntaja area thanked government for assisting them with the maize flour. He claimed that this initiative will help them to have food at home to sustain their daily life.