Malawi, like many other countries, is facing frequent climate-change related natural disasters, including floods, drought and cyclones.

These disasters often result in food insecurity and malnutrition, which can have exacerbated immediate and long-term effects on the population, especially the affected vulnerable groups such as under-five children, pregnant and lactating mothers, the elderly and persons with chronic illnesses.

As such, nutritional interventions have become more critical than ever in  disaster management to help individuals and communities cope with and recover from such emergencies.

The Malawi Vulnerable Assessment Committee projects that 3.8 million people required urgent food aid to avert biting hunger between November 2022 and March 2023.

The food and nutritional crisis is likely to worsen due to a series of disasters that have hit the nation, including Cyclone Freddy which has claimed more than 200 lives on the southern part of the country this week.

In response, we have seen the Government of Malawi and its partners implementing various interventions, including food assistance.

Despite these efforts, the nutrition situation in Malawi remains a critical concern as there is a likelihood of increased cases of severe acute malnutrition.

Severe acute malnutrition is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s weight and body mass index is significantly lower than normal. The condition is prevalent in children, but it can also affect adults in situations where access to nutritious food is limited and there is a disruption in access to medical care.

To comprehensively address the nutrition challenges facing vulnerable populations in our situation, there is need to have a collaborative approach between various stakeholders, including the government, civil society organisations, the private sector, and the international community.

Each stakeholder has a role to play in ensuring that nutrition interventions are adequately funded, implemented, and monitored to achieve their desired impact.

In this regard, Malawi Government needs to provide a policy direction and commitment to nutrition by investing in various nutrition-senstive disaster-related programmes and policies.

The expired National Multi-sectoral Nutrition Policy and Strategic Plan of 2018-2022 provided a framework for this approach.

The policy priority area number six was wholly dedicated to nutrition during emergency situations.

In addition, the government needs to allocate resources to emergency nutrition-specific interventions, such as the provision of therapeutic foods to treat severe acute malnutrition and the distribution of supplements, including vitamin A to children and iron to pregnant and lactating mothers.

On the other hand, the civil society organisations need to raise awareness about the importance of good nutrition and advocate for increased investment in nutrition programmes.

Some organisations have already been providing nutrition education and counselling services to communities, especially in areas affected by disasters.

The private sector has also been playing a crucial role in addressing the nutrition needs of the affected populations.

For example, some food processing companies and restaurants have stepped in to provide foods to the vulnerable communities.

We encourage and urge such companies to consider fortifying such foods with vitamins and minerals, such as maize flour, to improve the nutritional value of these staple foods.

The international community also needs to continue and step up in size and speed the support provided to Malawi’s nutrition sector.

International partners such as Unicef, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the US Agency for International Development have been providing funding and technical assistance to support nutrition interventions in the country.

Inclusive nutrition interventions should be placed at the front and centre of disaster management in Malawi.

Implementation of appropriate interventions such as emergency food assistance; macronutrient supplementation; water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition education; community-based nutrition programmes; agriculture support and other various recovery programnes and interventions require a consolidated multisectoral effort.

This multisectoral approach should bring together all stakeholders to coordinate their efforts, share resources and knowledge and ensure that nutrition interventions are implemented effectively.

This approach will ensure that interventions are well coordinated, resources are optimally utilised, and that all stakeholders are accountable for achieving the desired outcomes.

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