A multi-agency UN mission is in Malawi to assess food needs in the country, which is facing its worst famine in half a century, a World Food Programme (WFP) official said today.
The WFP's spokesman in Malawi, Mr Ausius Kachali, said the UN mission began its work yesterday and would finish on Friday after visiting some of the worst affected districts.
Malawi is this year facing a drought which was preceded last year by devastating floods that swamped most crops in southern parts of the country.
Ms Judith Lewis, the WFP's regional director for Africa, is leading the UN mission, while the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are also represented.
They will report their findings to finance ministry officials in the administrative capital Lilongwe on Friday.
Malawi is facing its worst hunger crisis in 50 years, affecting 76 percent of the country's 11 million people.
President Bakili Muluzi has declared the country in a state of national disaster and asked for $21 million in international assistance for food relief.
Malawi wants to spend 6.8 million kwacha ($150 million) to combat the devastating hunger crisis over the next several years.
Food shortages are a pressing issue in Malawi, where some 60 percent of rural households are unable to meet their nutritional requirements.
AFP