WFP's efforts hampered by poor rail infrastructure

The World Food Programme (WFP) is hoping to get donor support for a plan to rehabilitate a vital stretch of Malawi's Ncala railway that would allow for quicker transportation of urgent relief food. More than three million people face hunger in Malawi due to a combination of drought and floods that have devastated agricultural production. President Bakili Muluzi declared a state of disaster in the country on 27 February, following reports that hundreds of people were dying of hunger. Over 500 people have officially been reported dead. WFP's Resident Representative in Malawi, Gerald van Dyke, told IRIN on Thursday that the rehabilitation of a 77-km stretch of the Ncala line was of utmost importance to the delivery of food aid. "We are finalising a proposal to stabilise the rail and hire some additional locomotives to increase the capacity of that railway, it is very bad. For 77-km there are no sleepers on the line and our initial proposal is to put one sleeper every five paces, and then hire eight additional locomotives. This should create additional capacity for the transportation of between 10,000 mt and 15,000 mt of food aid every month," he said. Van Dyke said WFP was initially targeting 500,000 beneficiaries and would be increasing this over time to 2.1 million and then to 3.1 million people in December. However, he noted that assessments were currently being conducted in the country and the WFP may have to adjust its requirements as a result. WFP hopes to have "some movement from donors" on the plan to rehabilitate the railway line in the next few weeks.