EU humanitarian aid for Malawi

The European Commission has allocated a further €16 million to Malawi from the food security budget line for the victims of the current food crisis. The funds will be used to give food to those most in need for a four-month period in the second half of this year. The funds will also be used to reinforce the national capacity to respond to the crisis. In all, this money will cover the purchase in the region of around 40 000 tonnes of maize. This decision brings the amount of food aid given to Malawi for the current crisis to €28.5 million. Mr. Poul Nielson, Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid, stated: "Direct food aid is urgently needed for Malawi. This funding comes on top of previous decisions as well as our longer-term action to improve food security and prevent starvation."

The main component of this new assistance package (€13 million) is being provided as a specific contribution for Malawi to respond to the Emergency Appeal launched by the Government in March 2002 as a response to the food crisis in the country. This assistance will fund the purchase of 30,000 tonnes of white maize. An assessment has been made by the Commission to evaluate the surpluses of maize available in the country and in Northern Mozambique. Therefore, to stimulate the regional economy and to respect nutritional habits, the food will be purchased in the region, and will be distributed to highly vulnerable groups in the most affected districts of Malawi. Decisions on modalities of allocation will be taken jointly by the Commission and by the Government of Malawi through its Department of Disaster Preparedness Relief and Rehabilitation (DDPRR), which is co-ordinating humanitarian responses of various actors under the umbrella of the National Food Security Task Force committee (NFSTFC). This Committee also monitors and evaluates the targeted food aid distribution and associates line ministries, the national responsible bodies, the Commission, major donors, WFP, and NGOs.

The secondary component of the programme (worth around €3 million) concerns the provision of a direct financial allocation to the Government of Malawi to provide an additional quantity of around 10,000 tonnes of food (maize) in case of a further emergency situation. This quantity will be preferably purchased in the region and will be distributed to the most needy vulnerable Malawi population.

This €16 million decision comes in addition to the nutritional support programme, which is being implemented by the Government of Malawi, through UNICEF, WFP and a consortium of NGOs, since beginning of 2002 till March 2003, which has fed, to date, 210.000 children and 46.000 lactating and pregnant women. By the end of March 2003, the total beneficiaries of this programme will be 700,000 children and 360.000 pregnant and lactating women.

Furthermore, the European Commission has supported the local purchase of around 37,000 tonnes of white maize, to support Malawi farmers who have commercial surpluses, which will be stocked in the Strategic Grain Reserve of Malawi by the end of August 2002. To date, around 8,000 tonnes has been stocked in the reserve. The Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO also provided in May €1.5 million in support of National Rehabilitation Units. Combining food and humanitarian aid, the Commission has now mobilised €30 million in support of Malawi to cope with the present crisis.

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• EU humanitarian aid for crisis in Southern Africa (18/10/2002)
• EU humanitarian aid in response to crisis in South Africa (7/8/2002)
• EU Presidency declaration on Malawi (19/6/2002)