The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) and Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM – Caritas Malawi) have announced that they have secured an additional £146,000 [approximately MK327 million] funding towards Food Crisis Project.
The resources will go towards supporting 2, 723 hunger-stricken families in the three districts of Balaka (907), Chikwawa (908) and Nsanje (908) with cash transfers of K100, 000 per household.
The Scottish Government has providing the funding and CADECOM – Caritas Malawi is expected to effect the transfers through the Food Crisis Project, which was initiated in response to an appeal from State President, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera in March 2024.
Chakwera appealed to local and international organizations to partner with his government in providing relief foodstuffs to families that were affected by the effects of El Nino.
Announcing the news at a press briefing that took place at the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe on Friday, SCIAF Programme Manager Robert Angove reaffirmed his organization’s commitment to supporting Malawi in both emergencies and long-term interventions.
“And so we sourced this funding from the Scottish Government to go towards supporting families that were affected by climatic shocks. Last year, we provided £250, 000 to assist 3, 520 households across nine districts. This time, we are focusing on three districts with a cash transfer of K100, 000 per household,” he said.
“And this will be taking place over the next few weeks. It’ll be completed before the end of March, and each family will receive K100, 000, which they can then spend on their immediate needs. So we expect that most people, obviously will buy food. Some may invest in longer-term assets like chickens or other assets like that, which will provide greater security going forward.
“They are also free to spend it in other ways if they have immediate needs and need to satisfy as well. So, it’s entirely up to them how they’ll use it but we’re fairly sure most people at this stage having spoken to people will be using it in some way to provide for them and their families in around food,” he added.
In his remarks, Director of Social Development at the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB), Brother Pascal Mtuwana, said the additional funding underscores the stronger partnership between SCIAF and CADECOM – Caritas Malawi in addressing humanitarian needs.
Mtuwana said the additional funding will go towards supporting hunger-stricken families in the three districts of Balaka, Chikwawa and Nsanje.
“This is a huge relief for us as church, and I believe that on behalf of the bishops, we look forward to supporting the people who are in need. We feel that the interventions that have been coming in are not really adequate enough. There are so many people, thousands of people, hundreds of households, who need the immediate help. So definitely, this addition will go a long way in alleviating the suffering of our people,” he said.
Mtuwana assured that they would continue implementing the intervention in collaboration with district councils and the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA).
CADECOM – Caritas Malawi National Coordinator, Chimwemwe Sakunda-Ndhlovu, disclosed that they have also undertaken initiatives aimed at encouraging the spirit of self-reliance among the beneficiaries.
Among others, Sakunda-Ndhlovu stated, the Commission is training the beneficiaries in vocational and entrepreneurship skills and modern methods of farming.