USAID/Malawi Mission Director Pamela Fessenden joined the World Food Program and Malawi Government in a food distribution exercise in Chikwawa district, one of the most hard hit districts of the El Nino drought.The response comes after an appeal from the Malawi government for continued external support to reduce the impact of the El Niño-induced droughts.

The U.S. Government through USAID provided $21 million to the World Food Program and other partners to deliver cash and in-kind food assistance to affected communities and to support impacted Malawians to recover from the drought. The assistance targets over 450,000 people affected by the El Nino induced drought across the southern and central region districts of Malawi.

The assistance was in response to severe droughts which Malawi experienced as a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon that led to a food crisis as a result of low maize production. The 2023/2024 rainfall season was characterized by late onset of rainfall and prolonged dry spells which damaged crops, resulting in low food production especially in the central and southern districts of the country. President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster in March 2024 in 23 of Malawi’s 28 districts.

During the food distribution exercises, the Mission Director witnessed the food distribution assistance which underscores the importance of ongoing international support in addressing hunger and malnutrition.