The United States government has donated US$9.5 million towards a programme to assist food-insecure peasant farmers and refugees in Malawi, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Thursday.
The donation, which has been made through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), would enable the WFP to assist 382,000 food-insecure Malawians to “buy food and other basic livelihood needs and support them to attain sustainable livelihoods.”
“In addition, WFP will also use this contribution to provide cash and/or food transfers to 42,000 refugees hosted at Dzaleka Camp,” WFP country director in Malawi, Benoit Thiry, said.
He added: “Lastly, WFP will use the contribution to strengthen capacity and transfer skills to national and local institutions involved in food security, nutrition, disaster risk management, and emergency response.”
The U.S. is one of the largest donors to WFP in Malawi, contributing USD56.4 million since 2017 to respond to emergencies, support refugees and break the cycle of hunger.
USAID has been supporting WFP in Malawi for the past four years, helping food-insecure smallholder farmers improve their productivity, food security, and resilience to shocks.
JN/APA