World Vision working with partners to feed the hungry 5.4 million

The Integrated food security phase classification (IPC) Report of 5^th July, from May to September 2024, shows that approximately 5.4 million people in Malawi living in rural and secondary urban centres are facing moderate or severe chronic food insecurity due to abject poverty and recurrent shocks among other drivers.

It comes in the wake of the El-Nino weather patterns which has left many communities about 5.4 million people food insecure, presenting a daunting task on how resources can be mobilized to feed households between now and March next year.

Speaking during the launch of the Sponsorship week, which celebrates the programme and the impact it has had on children in Malawi World Vision Country Director Francis Dube, indicated that it is about connecting the donors, communities and individual children living within a particular community and seeing them develop over time.

He said this brings in a level of satisfaction and makes development very personal as the resources make the child have access to water, manage diarrhea infections, and having adequate food and be able to have good health.

Dube described it as an awareness raising process where the children, communities and staff begin to connect and be able to understand how important it is for an individual donor to see that journey of change in a community where the children they’re sponsoring growing up.

He lamented over the many children still in school but not learning due to the quality of education, not having adequate materials for reading, inadequate teachers leading to high pupil-teacher ratio making children move on an average pace.

The Country Director noted that across the country, the repetition rate is very high with transition from primary to secondary education very low with 20 percent of the children transitioning.

He bemoaned the high poverty levels which have seen children getting married at an early age because they’re trying to make ends meet, to earn food and income through early marriages.  

“These are the real issues that children face across the country. We still have many children a huge proportion of children families that don’t have access to clean water and because they don’t have access to clean water, we see children traveling long distances their families traveling long distances to get access to clean water.

“The 5.4 million people that don’t have food, we’re in the current phase of mobilization of resources that’s where we are and where we are is more of an appeal than saying we have  got a budget.

“If you recall, we just have the Malawi vulnerability assessment committee report released in June. We know of course the declaration of disaster was done way back in March; but people have been saying let’s get the figures right and so we’re saying now let’s get the resources as World Vision.

“We’re working together joining other partners, working with the government to reach out to many donors so that we’re able to get the food and feed the hungry”

The sponsorship programme is one of the key areas of focus of its operations connecting the donor community and benefiting Committees in need.

When the donors associate with the child’s name and communities as they support the community with the resources, they begin to understand how that need translates into an individual’s life and they track the developments in the child.

While acknowledging the harsh economic environment with much broader needs than what they’re able to supply, he applauded the donor’s passion and compassion towards the children’s needs.

Dube urged them not to get tired but continue to support the efforts as it works with other partners in developing the capacities of the vulnerable households so that they’re able to produce and in future depend on their own action rather than depending on handouts.

One of the sponsored children Ezrina from Salima said her area has benefitted from an irrigation programme which has seen her parents attain food sufficiency at household level.

The 16 year old form one student whose fees are being paid courtesy of the sponsorship programme, spoke in praise of the initiative.

“In the past I was not able to go to school because my parents were unable to pay for my fees; but now this is well taken care of and when I grow up I want to be a nurse” she beamed