Malawi Roundup: Food insecurity, repatriation of refugees, disaster response

UK supports food insecurity issues

The British High Commission in Malawi has pledged £5 million towards the support of Malawi's food insecurity issues. " “We will continue to support the Government’s efforts to curb food price rises and shortages to help reduce the impact of difficult but necessary economic reforms," the British High Commissioner to Malawi in a statement said. The United Nations World Food Programme will distribute the funds to over 250,000 people in the Southern districts of the East African nation affected by the high levels of food insecurity.

Repatriation of Burundian refugees

The Malawi Ministry of Homeland Security and UNHCR have repatriated 77 Burundian refugees from Dzaleka Refugee Camp, marking the third cohort to leave Malawi under a voluntary repatriation initiative, local media Malawi 24 reports. “Noting that the situation in most of the countries of origin for the refugees that we host has changed, we are encouraging those who feel that it is safe for them, to go back home. As the government, we are facilitating this,” an official of the Malawi Homeland Security told reporters. A total of 224 Burundi nationals have been repatriated, Malawi 24 reported.

Graduation of rapid responders to disaster

About 70 Malawian nationals have completed their training as rapid responders to disasters in the East African country, local media Nyasa Times reports. WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response Flagship Coordinator in Malawi told reporters that the training took 28 days and is based on the realities of the WHO AFRO region, responding to 128 disease outbreaks and 19 humanitarian crises such as floods, conflicts, food insecurity and drought.

Agriculture electricity tariff

The government of Malawi has introduced a special agriculture electricity tariff to promote agro-industrialisation and reduce the impact of high electricity bills on agriculture production in the country. “Although the introduction of the special agriculture tariff comes at a cost, it is envisioned that this will eventually be regained as agriculture production increases through increased productivity from the cooperatives and small and medium enterprises creating a demand for more energy as enterprises expand,” Malawi Minister of Energy is quoted by Malawi 24.

UN cooperation agreement

Malawi and the United Nations have signed a five-year, US$1.7 billion cooperation framework to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and Malawi's national development priorities. The Secretary to the President of Malawi in a statement said the framework aims to address four priority areas: sustainable economic growth, strengthened institutional governance, sustainable investments in human capital development, climate change adaptation, and environmental sustainability.