The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) is holding preparatory meetings with district and city councils from all the three regions of the country, on the implementation of the 2021/22 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Plan (LS-FIRP).
DoDMA and its humanitarian partners developed the LS-FIRP (also known as the MVAC Humanitarian Response) following the report by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC), which projected that about 1.5 million people in all the 28 districts, including the four cities of the country; will be food-insecure during the 2021/22 lean season.
Speaking during the official opening ceremony of a two-day meeting with councils from the Central Region, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba indicated the need for councils to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the response plan.
“Some districts will receive food rations while others will be reached out to through cash transfers. We will have to account for all the resources, we will need an account of who has received what, the quantities and where.
"Let me also point out that there is a tendency of some traditional leaders who impose on beneficiaries to share relief items with some members of their community, this; will not be tolerated. The relief assistance will only be targeted to intended beneficiaries,” said Kalemba.
Pictures show part of the proceedings during the meeting for councils from the central region, held in Mponela, Dowa.