UN agencies help Malawi respond to floods

UN agencies in Malawi are “mobilizing logistical and emergency support” to assist the Malawi government respond to the impact of heavy rains and floods that have affected about 335,000 people in 13 of the country’s 25 districts, a press release from the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Malawi said on Thursday. “Agencies contributing to the initial response include the World Food Programme (WFP) which will launch a US $200,000 Immediate Response Action starting this week, when relief items that were being distributed by the government are expected to run out,” the statement said. It added that WFP would “borrow” maize, pulses and children’s supplementary food from existing in-country stocks so that distribution could begin as soon as government stocks were depleted. The organisation, the statement added, was also designing a US $1 million Emergency Operation (EMOP) to run from 1 April to 30 June. The statement said the FAO was planning a US $300,000 emergency project to support flood victims so that they could plant their winter crop. “WHO has allocated US $30,000 for the emergency response. The UN agency has also requested its headquarters for medicine,” it added. UNICEF estimated, the statement said, that over 37,000 children under-five may be affected in the four most affected districts of Nsanje, Chikwawa, Salima and Nkhotakota. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva allocated an emergency grant of US $30,000 to buy blankets, plastic sheeting and iodised salt to assist the affected population. UNHCR has initiated consultations on relief assistance for the displaced people with its Regional Office in Nairobi, while UNDP was allocating US $100,000 to meet some of the logistical support and management of operations costs, the statement said.