Malawi: President Chakwera Declares A State Of Disaster Amid Hunger.

By Joseph Dumbula

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has declared a state of disaster following the prevalent hunger situation in 23 of the country’s 28 districts, which has affected millions of small scale farmers.

Chakwera made the declaration in his national address and appealed to development partners, the international community, to provide humanitarian assistance.

According to the Chakwera inadequate rains, floods and prolonged dry spell caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon have severely damaged crops and the prospects of food production.

“Close to two million farming households and 749,113 hectares of maize have been affected, representing 44.3 percent of the national crop area. Other important crops like rice, soya beans, cowpeas, and groundnuts have also been affected. This is devastating. It would have been devastating enough if this was the first disaster to befall us in recent times. But unfortunately, in the four years that I have been your President, this is the fourth time I have had to declare a State of Disaster,” he said.

In the address, the Malawi leader also took turns to appeal for food donation to the local private sector Members of Parliament and all those who have any resources in cash or kind to spare, to avail those resources as donations to the Presidential Initiative to Stop Hunger.

According to Chakwera, the donations will be coordinated his office through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs and close to 600,000 metric tonnes of maize.

 “There is no one in this country who is at fault for any of the disasters that keep coming against us. But if we stand united and put away the politics of pettiness and negativity to confront this latest disaster, there is no one in this country who should die because of hunger,” he appealed.

Malawi has been recurrently hit by weather extremes in recent years. Neighboring Zambia declared a national disaster in late February.