Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
THE number of people struggling to get food in Southern Africa is projected to hit more than 49 million before the end of 2016 as a number of countries declare states of emergency. Currently, an estimated 31,6 million people across the region are in dire need of food. Lesotho, Malawi, …
Health officials in Rumphi are battling with cholera, which has alarmingly affected 41 people from just four a few days ago and fear the number of patients might go up. District Health Officer for Rumphi , Bwanalole Mwamulimwa said health personnel in the district are on the ground to contain …
The Global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (2016–2030) provides a roadmap for ending preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents by 2030 and helping them achieve their potential for and rights to health and well-being in all settings. The global strategy has three objectives: survive (end preventable deaths); …
This paper investigates how household agricultural involvement affects food consumption and dietary diversity in rural Malawi. Ceteris paribus, a 10 per cent increase in on-farm income share increases food consumption per capita by 2.9 per cent, calorie intake per capita per day by 1.7 per cent, and leads to small …
Mchinji — Typhoid Fever has hit Mchinji district with confirmed cases of at least 18 people who tested positive to the disease. Mchinji District Hospital Public Relations Officer Frank Kaphaso Nyasulu told Malawi News Agency (Mana) Monday that all registered cases are from Traditional Authority (T.A.) Zulu's area. He said …
Ten days of persistent rains in the north of Malawi have killed dozens, injured others whiles destroying over 1000 houses and affecting about 17,000 families. The impact of the rain has made President Peter Mutharika to declare a state of emergency as local authorities call for help. The disaster has …
About 60 million people across Southern Africa and the Horn, Central America, and the Pacific face worsening hunger and poverty due to droughts and crop failures in 2014–15 that have been exacerbated by the El Niño weather system in 2015–16. This number is likely to rise. The international response is …
Three new but independent studies have recorded breakthrough against two of the most deadly diseases in Africa- tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Results of a new study involving over 3, 000 women in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Zambia show four available antimalarial treatments are safe to use in pregnancy, providing …
CHIKWAWA, Malawi (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Deadly floods in Malawi robbed Fanny Josamu of her husband last year and now drought threatens her two children with starvation. For weeks, Josamu has relied on unripened watermelons and vegetables to keep her small family alive in Chikwawa, one of the most disaster-prone …
Malawi will import 50,000 tonnes of the staple maize from Tanzania to avert hunger after a drought that affected 2.8 million people in the southern African nation, state officials said on Monday. Agriculture is Malawi's mainstay, accounting for a third of the economy and providing livelihoods for 80 percent of …
Severe droughts and floods triggered by one of the strongest El Niño weather events ever recorded have left nearly 100 million people in southern Africa, Asia and Latin America facing food and water shortages and vulnerable to diseases including Zika, UN bodies, international aid agencies and governments have said. New …
Ministry of Natural Resources Energy and Mining Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services alongside Department of Disaster Management Affairs have taken a new approach in Managing Climate change effects originating from El Nino (the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean) through Disaster Insurance Plan amount to 30 Million …
Armyworms in Malawi are threatening food security by reducing crop yields with over 167 hectares of maize fields have been attached in Ntcheu fueling the risk of decreased agricultural production during the current growing season in the district. Maize field in Ndembo Village attaked by army worms One of the …
The Global Environment Facility Partners Network (GPN) has embarked on an initiative to plant 10,000 trees in several districts in Malawi’s Lilongwe, Mzimba and Chikwawa to mitigate against the effects of climate change in the country.GPN chairperson Maynard Nyirenda said Wednesday that the network gives a platform several organizations working …
Civil registration and vital statistics systems are increasingly recognized as drivers of human rights, health, and development programs—especially for women and children. Vital statistics systems are weak in most low-income countries, precisely where the burden of maternal and child deaths is highest and, therefore, the need for up-to-date, high-quality estimates …
TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Africa's small farmers, more than half of whom buy their seeds from local informal markets, need access to improved seeds that can yield more food and cope with climate change, according to research published on Wednesday. Innovations in food science, including seeds that produce vitamin-rich …
Efforts to end preventable newborn deaths will fail if the poor are not reached with effective interventions. To understand what works to reach vulnerable groups, the researchers describe and explain the uptake of a highly effective community-based newborn health intervention across social strata in Asia and Africa. Original Source
About 233 families have been left destitute after a violent rainstorm destroyed their houses in Phalombe district, police have confirmed. On Tuesday December 15th, the district experienced a downpour accompanied by strong winds, leaving over one thousand people homeless. About 12 people including children were injured by the violent rainstorm …
The Green Climate Fund has approved US$12.3 million for Malawi to implement early warning systems for a period of six years from 2016 to 2021.Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Bright Msaka told journalists in the capital Lilongwe that the funds are part of the US$100 billion which has …
Following reports of increasing food shortage and hunger problem in Malawi coming from its communities and villages, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is carrying out a mass screening for malnutrition in children under five across 25 districts in Malawi, which accounts for 90 per cent of the country. “We …
