Severe flooding has displaced more than 100,000 people and reportedly killed some 48 others, according to a UN's report. "Thousands to flee their homes as the floods have caused extensive damage to crops and livestock; people’s homes have been flooded and roads and other infrastructure have been affected," the floods have washed away many roads and bridges, with the worst affected areas in the south, namely the Chikwawa and Nsanje districts.Jens Laerke of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters in Geneva.
The Malawian Government declared a State of Emergency on 13 January, at the request of the Government and the UN system in Malawi, OCHA has deployed an eight-member UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team of specially trained emergency managers to support the national response.
UN World Food Programme (WFP) is moving stocks of food from its regular programmes to the flooded areas.
WFP is planning to airlift more than 100 metric tonnes of high-energy biscuits from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai enough to meet the immediate food needs of some 77,000 people.Ready-to-eat food will be prioritized for the most vulnerable people, particularly children who have been displaced from their homes and have no access to food or cooking facilities.
Malawi among the poorest countries on earth and has one of the highest rates of stunting among children. More than 40 per cent of the country’s children have low growth for their age as a result of under nutrition. WFP is working together with UNICEF and other UN agencies to assist vulnerable children.
