Date Of Article: 7/30/2002
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Govt prepares to avert hunger
By: Francis Tayanjah-Phiri
The Malawi Government, in conjunction with donor agencies, is putting in place structures that will see it distributing handouts to people hardest hit by hunger. Called the Joint Emergency Food Aid Programme (Jefap), the initiative is to provide assistance to the needy, targeting 15 out of every 100 Malawians. “Since food resources are not enough to satisfy all needs, we will target the most needy. The food assistance will therefore, have to be prioritised to those whose lives are at risk”, said Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness Lucius Chikuni. He was briefing district commissioners and chief executives of assemblies in the Northern Region in Mzuzu on Friday. Chikuni said the programme, now in its first phase — from June to August — will target 500,000 beneficiaries throughout the country. Said Chikuni: “After August, the number of beneficiaries will increase to 2.1 million and then 3.2 million from November to March, 2003.” Chikuni said scheduled implementation of the plans will depend on the availability of resources. Logistics of the distribution of maize will entail government overseeing all aspects at national level and coordination activities at district level through offices of the district commissioners, he said. “At district level, the government, through the district commissioner, has the responsibility of coordinating the programme with World Food Programme and NGOs, selection of beneficiaries, food aid deliveries and distribution,” said Chikuni. WFP Deputy Country Director Patricia Kennedy said in an interview that her organisation had responsibility of overall implementation of the Jefap initiative and accountability to donors. WFP, she said, was also responsible for resourcing and transportation of food commodities into the country to main warehouses. “We already have 71,296 metric tonnes of maize available in the country, which we expect will last up to October. But with donor confirmation, we expect we will have a total of 112,000 metric tonnes, including the already available stock,” she said.
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