LILONGWE, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Program (WFP) has pledged to provide food aid worth 35 million U.S. dollars to Malawi, with financing from the World Bank, to help address the ongoing food shortage in the southern African country.
According to a joint statement released Friday, the aid will see Malawi, which borders Mozambique and Zambia, receive about 48,000 metric tonnes of maize to be distributed to hunger-stricken households.
"WFP is focused on making sure critical resources reach the people who need them most," said WFP Regional Director for Southern Africa Eric Perdison in the statement.
In response to the food aid, Malawi's Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs Charles Kalemba said that about 954,000 households would benefit from the support.
The funding, according to the statement, comes from the Crisis Emergency Response Component of the Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa -- Phase 3, a World Bank Group program that helps countries quickly access resources during emergencies.
Malawi is currently facing acute food insecurity, with 5.7 million people rendered food insecure following the El Nino-induced drought which negatively affected 44 percent of the country's crop production. ■
