The United States, through USAID, is providing more than $7 million in humanitarian assistance that will support tens of thousands of people in Malawi facing food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs as a result of El Niño. Today's announcement brings total U.S. humanitarian assistance to Malawi to over $59 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2023, including vital resilience and food security programs.
This additional assistance supports UNICEF and the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide urgently needed food and agriculture assistance, and improve access to safe drinking water. With this support, UNICEF will assist more than 60,000 Malawians, primarily children, with hygiene kits, safe drinking water, and protection services. In addition, UNICEF will reach approximately 10,000 severely malnourished children with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), one of the most effective treatments for wasting, the most severe form of malnutrition. These funds also support WFP providing cash transfers for food assistance to about 300,000 people affected by El Niño and 54,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing at the Dzaleka refugee camp, as well as help transport and deliver 10,000 metric tons of maize grain, donated to WFP by the Government of Malawi.
The United States stands with the people of Malawi as they deal with the impacts of this ongoing food insecurity and humanitarian crisis. As a longtime partner of Malawi, the U.S. government, through USAID, was already working in many of the communities affected by El Niño, which has helped our partners quickly mobilize additional support.
