Malawi

With a majority of livelihoods dependent on agriculture, the population of Malawi is highly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters such as drought and flooding.
WFP/Badre Bahaji/2023

Climate is Driving Hunger

Natural disasters are increasing in frequency, intensity and unpredictability, giving the most vulnerable households inadequate time to recover.

Even before Cyclone Freddy hit, many in Malawi were already living on the edge of hunger. Experts estimate more than 3.8 million people – 20% of the population – needed food assistance over the last six months.

The main drivers of severe hunger in Malawi are extreme weather events and rapidly rising food and fuel inflation.

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WFP/Photolibrary
Make a difference in Malawi

WFP’s Work in Malawi

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been present in Malawi since 1965. In 2021, the agency assisted over 1 million people. The U.N. World Food Programme is delivering emergency food assistance and addressing the root causes of hunger in Malawi through:
man smiling with little boy on his back
Food Assistance
The U.N. World Food Programme provides refugees in Malawi with cash-based assistance to help them meet urgent food needs. The majority of people in refugee camps have no access to income-earning activities, and U.N. World Food Programme assistance is the only reliable and predictable source of food for them.
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Malawi, Mwandama, Zomba District. 19 December 2017.

Over the last two years Zioni and Grace have faced the worst drought they can remember and they received food assistance from the World Food Programme. Now they have been transitioned to WFP’s multiyear resilience programme with the aim of enabling them to withstand against future shocks while improving their adaptation capacities.

“I now know how to make compost and I also received seeds to grow my own vegetable garden. Every week, I go to the market to sell tomatoes, pumpkins, mangos, bananas and wild fruits. We are still growing, but for now, we do not need food assistance,” she adds. 

In the Photo: Zioni and her husband working on their farm. 

Photo: WFP/Badre Bahaji
Resilience Building
The U.N. World Food Programme changes lives in Malawi through a range of resilience-building activities including: the creation of community assets like roads and bridges, promotion of climate-smart agriculture, increased access to finance and crop insurance, management of post-harvest losses and linking small-scale farmers to markets where they can sell their surplus. These activities address the root causes of hunger and help communities build long-term stability and food security.
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A young girl eats a spoonful of food.
School Meals
The U.N. World Food Programme provides daily meals to around 600,000 schoolchildren in 452 schools. Where possible, the agency prioritizes a homegrown approach that connects local small-scale farmers to schools. Farmers’ fresh produce is used to prepare daily school meals.
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Lastest News

Food Prices Skyrocket as Cost of Cyclone Freddy Becomes Evident in Malawi