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afrol News, 4 April - In response to the worst floods to strike Malawi in over a decade, the UN World Food Programme today launched a three-month emergency operation to feed 208,500 people who have been devastated by the disaster. The floods have affected about 350,000 people in 13 of the country's 25 districts. - As a result of the sudden floods that swept across much of the country in February, thousands of houses have been washed away or have collapsed, said Adama Diop-Faye, WFP Malawi Country Director. "Thousands of families have been left homeless. Many more have lost their crops and are facing massive food shortages. Our worst fear is that we could see increased malnutrition, or even starvation." Abnormally high rainfall in December and January, and almost incessant rains in the first part of February, caused many rivers, including the Shire River, to burst their banks, causing extensive areas of Malawi to flood. Crops were destroyed, villages were inundated and houses, bridges, roads and railways were demolished throughout the country. Southern Malawi was hardest-hit, as the Lower Shiré River overflowed and completely filled its flood plain in Nsanje and Chickwawa Districts. On February 21, the Government of Malawi declared a state of disaster and released emergency funds for immediate food and non-food assistance to the most affected people, while appealing for international aid. In early March, as government stocks ran dry, WFP launched a short-term immediate response operation with food borrowed from other WFP projects to immediately feed some 60,000 people in the six most damaged districts. Despite difficulties in transporting food because of severe damage and flooding of roads, WFP managed to deliver nearly 700 tons of food to stranded people in Nsanje, Chickwawa, Phalombe, Zomba and Machinga districts in the south, and Salima district in central Malawi. The same districts, including the additional district of Mangochi, will be assisted in the wider three-month relief operation. - Our immediate objective is to prevent the loss of life and an explosion of malnutrition among children and their parents, said Diop-Faye. "The food will also help to stop families from selling off crucial farming tools, give them sufficient energy to plant in May for the July/August harvest and therefore recover from this crippling disaster." The floods struck at the worst possible time, just prior to the March harvest, causing widespread crop destruction. The majority of farmers - primarily female heads of the household - affected in these often inaccessible areas are extremely poor and require immediate food aid. - The nutritional status of women and that of their children is at serious risk. Donations are needed immediately to ensure that these mothers have enough energy to plant, harvest and support their families, said Diop-Faye. The UN agency said that in order to run the operation for a planned period of three months, from April 1 to June 30, it urgently needs US$3.3 million in donations from the international community to purchase 8,800 tons of food for tens of thousands of hungry families. WFP will provide 6,230 tons of maize, 1,090 tons of pulses, 467 tons of oil, 957 tons of blended cereal and 78 tons of salt over the course of the three months of the relief operation. Following the emergency relief operation, food aid will be provided in the form of a resettlement package for families who have lost their homes, under a WFP Disaster Mitigation and Response project. It will also provide for food-for-work activities to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and to develop flood damage prevention projects. Also other UN agencies are involved in logistical and emergency support to assist the Malawi Government. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reviewing and assessing the health situation of the affected populations and has allocated US$ 30,000 for the emergency response. Source: WFP and afrol archives
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