Highlights
The Malawi government declared a state of disaster on 12 April 2016, in the face of a second consecutive year of food insecurity. According to the second round crop estimates, rain fed maize production this year is 32 per cent below the five-year average. The number of food insecure people resulting from this situation will be ascertained once the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) undertakes the annual food security assessment, which is expected to be carried out in the month of May, with the results expected within the month of June.
As of the end of March 2016, the mass screening drive has been rolled out in 25 districts, with support from UNICEF, reaching 1,328,553 children (74 per cent of the total target) and has delivered tremendous results in terms of active case findings as well as immediate treatment and saving of children’s lives. In addition, 14 Nutrition Field Monitors continue supporting community mass screening and the delivery of quality Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) services in the drought affected districts.
The relocation of new Mozambique refugee arrivals to Luwani camp started on 15 April, with 82 individuals already transferred from Nsanje District in Southern Malawi to Luwani.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The second round of agricultural production estimates indicate that this will be the second consecutive year of below-average cereal production in Malawi. Estimated rain fed maize production this year is 32 per cent below the five-year average.
Other cereals, namely rice, sorghum and millet production are estimated to range from 20 to 40 per cent below the five-year average, while legume production is expected to be 5-10 per cent below average.
National average prices for maize increased slightly between February and March. Maize prices have begun to stabilize due to anticipation of the next harvests as well as the availability of some prematurely harvested maize in markets. The average price of maize is still 184 per cent higher than the five-year average price and about 148 per cent above the average prices in March 2015. Poor households not receiving assistance continue to experience limited food access due to limited income generating activities. This problem is being exacerbated by low market supplies and low stocks of subsidized maize in the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) markets. The Malawi government declared a state of disaster on 12 April 2016, in the face of a second consecutive year of food insecurity. The size of the food insecure population during the 2016/2017 consumption year is expected to increase substantially. The number of food insecure people resulting from this situation will be ascertained once the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) undertakes the annual food security assessment, which is expected to be carried out in the month of May with the results expected within the month of June.
The cholera outbreak which started in December 2015, also continues to be a challenge in the country. The highest numbers of reported new cases were reported on 28 February and 11 April, 2016 where 22 cases were reported on each of these days. The trend of the incidence of cholera cases is shown Figure 1 below. Cumulatively, as of 1 May 2016 a total of 1,304 cases were registered in 11 districts, with 35 deaths representing a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 2.68 per cent. Karonga district in Northern Malawi has reported the highest number of new cases during the month of April, having registering a total of 157 cases as of 1 May, increasing from 11 cases registered at the end of March 2016.