By Chisomo Phiri
The German Government has provided EUR 5 million (about K6.3 billion) to Malawi to scale up interventions addressing malnutrition in five targeted districts of Phalombe, Nsanje, Blantyre, Dowa and Lilongwe.
This is additional funding towards the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) programme which Malawi has been implementing since 2011, bringing the overall German Government’s contribution towards the programme to 44.55 million euros (about K57.46 billion) since 2016.
According to Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda, the support comes at a time when Malawi is dealing with a challenging food security situation and 4.4 million people are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between October 2023 and March 2024.
On her part, German Ambassador to Malawi, Ute König, said the grant will also protect hard-won nutrition gains Malawi has achieved under the SUN programme that addresses the needs of the most vulnerable people, especially children.
Meanwhile, UNICEF Representative Shadrack Omol has commended the German Government for the timely support, saying it will help sustain progress in protecting children from malnutrition and enhancing Malawi’s human capital.
