Malawi gets $15m DFID donation as food aid
Britain’s aid agency, the Department for International Development (DfID) on Friday announce a K8.75 billion (about US$15 million) for humanitarian food assistance in Malawi responding to President’s call for food assistance.
DFID Country representative Jen Marshall made the announcement in the capital Lilongwe on behalf of British Government.
“As one of the leading humanitarian donors to Malawi, Britain is acting swiftly to response to the country’s international appeal for emergency aid by providing K8.75Billion (£10M/15$M) to support national food insecurity response plan,” said Marshall.
“The assistance will be given in form of food commodities to meet their nutritional requirements and cash to the affected population,” she said.
UK International Development Minister Grant Shapps who visited Malawi in June this year said Malawi is facing its food crisis in more than a decade.
Close to 3 million people are predicted to face hunger and acute food shortages in Malawi in the coming months, with potentially devastating effects for the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Malawi’s most severe food crisis in a decade is a result of drought, late and erratic rains during the last farming season, and the extensive floods that destroyed homes, farm land and crops in southern districts earlier this year.
Malawi’s Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima commended the DFID for the aid package.
Chilima warned all public servants to avoid ‘cashgating’ the aid.
“The law shall take its course, I know there are some people who have ill minds to steal the same money, we will not leave you like that,” warned Chilima.
The multidonor trust fund is supporting the plan to meet the urgent needs of those suffering from food insecurity.
At the same time, DFID is continuing to work with Government and other partners to ensure that Malawi move away from a year on year food security crisis.
Britain becomes the second country after United States of America (USA) to respond to President Mutharika’s SOS.
President Peter Mutharika, last week appealed to governments, donors and non-governmental organisations to help Malawians who are currently experiencing food insecurity.
Mutharika said Malawi needs about $150 million to attend to those in need of food assistance.
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Koma ndiye makolo anthu akhala akuthandizidwa moyo wawo onse ifenso chimodzimodzi koma zimenezi zimandidenkhawa kuti tingatani kuti tizitha kudziyimila monga dziko. But thanks for all the support we have beem given .
A Malawi kunyoza basi. basi kunyoza osaona zabwino akuchita APM shame on you provoking curses on your life & generation.
I thought this is a god fearing country that wants to discriminate gays, coz god hates homosexuals? Why then a religious country is willing to get money from British taxpayers, people who the majority don’t actually think there is a homophobic god with a half Jewish son living in the sky? One thing I will never understand is: why are religious people hypocrites? And some of you are actually thanking a god for this donation, coming from non believers, koma religion! It’s such bullshit…
Thank God for the support DFiD has given us because this will take care of our relatives in the villages. Most villagers especially the elderly and children are facing serious malnutrition. I ask Malawians and local stallholders to help the government in supporting the needy in our communities. Would you Airtel, TNM and other mobile phone operators please come in to support your hungry customers in villages, we need to see your love
DFID we are grateful to the donation also consider with budgetary support or else malawi will collapse, you dont want also migrants from here heading to your shores.
Here we go again! The usual mixed messages from Malawi. “Zero-aid” budget (but here’s a few billion kwacha from UK and US for food-aid!) Malawi is supposed, by the Mutharika family, to be resource-rich but only its people they say are poor. No sign yet of these rich resources, however, except at the Hilton dining-tables in New York but plenty of that poverty in the maize-fields of Malawi, also in the empty Nsanje port, and in the silent Kayelekera mine! The government is said to have “reformed” its public finances, but the VP is still warning us against the “cashgating”… Read more »
Asayembekezere kuona olo one dollar ntooo. Igawe ndi DFID.
Have never seen such an irresponsible predident l7ke this one.
Oh paja IMF yampatsa malikisi 0.
Put proper controls.Just a mere warning is not enough.How many cashgaters have been warned before?.A mere word of “WARNING” will never change things in Malawi.Thieves are immune to this word .The only solution is to mete out some harsh punishments like in Kamuzu Banda’s time when returning back from you called yourself lucky.