150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Tel: 41 22 791 6033 Fax: 41 22 791 6506 e-mail: [email protected] Appeal Coordinating Office Malawi Famine Mitigation Follow-up – AFMW51 Appeal Target: US$ 2,017,307 Geneva, 6 September 2005 Dear Colleagues, Drought-prone Malawi is yet again suffering from food crisis this year following adverse climatic conditions arising from severe drought and erratic rains, inadequate accessibility to farm inputs and the effect of previous food shortage situations. The drop in crop performance, especially for the country's main staple food, maize, have created big food security concerns for many parts of the country including those that are currently on food aid. The immediate household food shortage caused by low expected yields from the current crops is an indicator that most households will have food shortage from August 2005 to April 2006 if no appropriate interventions are put in place. The continued grip of the food shortage, the increased funding of current appeal AFMW41 almost towards the end of the appeal period, the increased number of beneficiaries and the change in nature of implementation prompted the Malawi ACT Forum: Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Development Department of Synod of Livingstonia, Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Blantyre Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP), Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) and Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD), to submit this new proposal which will be for a implementation period of six additional months. The AFMW41 appeal will remain the same and will be closed, while this appeal represents new needs identified by the ACT members in Malawi. Name of ACT member/partner: Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Development Department of Synod of Livingstonia ACT is a global alliance of churches and related Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Blantyre Synod agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP) The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. Famine Mitigation Follow-up in Malawi 2 AFMW-51 Project Completion Date: March 2006 Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested CARD CCAP CCAP ELDP CHAM ACT Co- Total (Blantyre) (Living ord/Comm Target US$ stonia) Targets 275,272 408,127 437,960 587,309 303,639 5,000 2,017307 Less: Pledges/Contr recd 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Balance Requested 275,272 408,127 437,960 587,309 303,639 5,000 2,017,307 from ACT Alliance Please kindly send your contributions to either of the following ACT bank accounts: US dollar Account Number - 240-432629.60A IBAN No: CH46 0024 0240 4326 2960A Euro Euro Bank Account Number - 240-432629.50Z IBAN No: CH84 0024 0240 4326 2950Z Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together UBS AG 8, rue du Rhône P.O. Box 2600 1211 Geneva 4, SWITZERLAND Swift address: UBSW CHZH12A Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (direct tel. +4122/791.60.38, e-mail address [email protected]) of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal. We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind co-operation. For further information please contact: ACT Acting Director, Jessie Kgoroeadira (phone +4122/791.60.38or mobile phone + 41 79 757 9174) or ACT Programme Officer, Michael Hyden (phone +41 22 791 6040 or mobile phone +41 79 4330 592). ACT Web Site address: http://www.act-intl.org Jessie Kgoroeadira ACT Acting Director EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Famine Mitigation Follow-up in Malawi 3 AFMW-51 Production of maize, Malawi’s most important staple crop, is estimated at 1.25 million tonnes, the lowest in a decade and some 26% down on last year`s relatively poor harvest. Early and above average rains had led to optimism for a good crop, but hopes were dashed when rains failed at critical time when the maize crop was at the stage of cob formation. The worst affected districts in the southern region include Balaka, Mangochi, Machinga, Nsanje, Chikwawa and Phalombe. Worst hit among central districts are Dedza, Ntcheu, Mchinji, Salima, Dowa, and Nkhota-kota. In the northern region Rumphi, Karonga (central part) and southern part of Nkhata Bay districts are badly affected. Almost 2 million people are at risk with severe losses of up to 70 per cent among the poorest households who constitute over 60 per cent of the population at risk. Along with poor harvests, thousands of the most vulnerable people across the country continue to face severe food insecurity due to 'access crisis'. Such people simply cannot afford to buy whatever food is available - even at subsidised government levels. Findings of the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) indicative assessment1 showed that parts of Lake Chilwa-Phalombe Plain, Middle Shire and Lower Shire Livelihood Zones may face household food deficits, though not significant, as early as the first three months of the marketing year (April, 2005 – March, 2006) as depicted by the Table 1 below. The table underscores the fact that despite interventions that took place or are in progress in some of the target areas under the Appeal AFMW51, the vulnerabilities of the population in these areas have been exacerbated by the declining food insecurity situation arising from this season’s dry spell. Table 1: Deficits, Affected Populations and Missing Food Entitlements in areas Targeted by the Appeal Livelihood Zones and Affected EPAs MFE: Percentage of Min Approx. Calories Pop. MFE: Scenario: Maize purchasing price keeps pace with Better- Maize inflation at 2002-2004 average rate of MK19-23/kg Poor Middle Off At Risk Eq. Central Karonga – Lupembe EPA 35-50% 0% 0% 3,500 330 Chitipa Maize & Millet – Kavukuku and Chisenga EPAs 25-35% 0% 0% 15,300 980 Lake Chilwa & Phalombe Plain - Machinga, Zomba, Mulanje Districts; Kosongo, Mpinda, Tamani Waruma, Naminjiwa & 55-70% 15-30% 0% 849,100 69,970 Thumbwe EPAs Lower Shire - Kalambo, Livunzu, Nyachilenda, Mogoti, Dolo 50-60% 30-45% 0% 295,800 30,070 & Zunde Lower Shire - Makhanga, Mpatsa, Mitole, Mbewe & 55-65% 50-60% 0% 237,900 30,710 Mikalango EPAs Middle Shire – Lisungwi, Thambani, Mwanza, Neno, Phalula, 50-65% 20-35% 0% 540,200 54,250 Utale, Chingale & Ntubwi EPAs TOTAL 1,941,800 186,310 Adapted from MVAC (May 2005) Severe loss of food entitlement High loss of food entitlements Target EPAs within the affected Livelihood Zones Food insecurity in Malawi is exacerbated by a number of factors including the 16 percent adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, extremely high levels of poverty with 60 percent living below the poverty line, chronic levels of malnutrition, and the collapse of labour markets in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In light of the emerging situation, appropriate actions are on the drawing board in order to address the 1 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Food Security Assessment Preliminary Results May 2005 Famine Mitigation Follow-up in Malawi 4 AFMW-51 situation. The government, with assistance from DFID and the EU, has already put out a tender for 29,000 MT to replenish the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) and meet the recommended SGR stock level, which is 60,000 MT per year. Apart from replenishing the SGR, the government intends to purchase about 100,000 MT of maize for sale to the public2. This however, leaves a huge deficit from the shortfall of the national food balance sheet. Overall, the Malawi Government will import 300,000 MT of maize and out of this 250,000 MT will be distributed freely to farmers to avert hunger3. 2 FEWSNET/Malawi Food Security Update April 2005. 3 Finance Minister, Goodall Gondwe, Budget Presentation, Parliament Sitting, New state House, 10 June 2005 Famine Mitigation Follow-up in Malawi 5 AFMW-51 FIGURE 1: LOCATION OF AFMW 41 APPEAL RESPONSE AREAS IN MALAWI Famine Mitigation Follow-up in Malawi 6 AFMW-51 Legend to the Map in Figure 1 SYMBOL ORGANIZATION CARD ELDP CHAM LIVINGSTONIA SYNOD BT SYNOD The ACT Malawi Forum members will seek to provide assistance in a manner that is consistent with international and national human rights framework particularly in upholding the rights to participation, non- discrimination and information. This is premised on the acknowledgement of the differing vulnerabilities, needs, and capacities of the affected groups. ACT-Malawi Forum members have undertaken firm commitment to eliminate human rights abuses and violations as they prepare for long-term interventions to address the vulnerabilities of the affected populations in the target response areas. This is being tackled from different fronts: individually within each organisation’s internal environment as well as collectively as members of the Forum. Partners will meet monthly to monitor funding level, progress of activities, programme performance, training and adherence to human rights based approaches to the programme to prevent abuses. The focus of interventions will be both crisis and post-crisis oriented strategies as espoused in the AFMW 51 Appeal – proposing farm inputs, restocking of livestock, training in agricultural recovery processes, health, nutritional intervention and capacity building. Significant recognition has also been placed on mainstreaming rights based approaches in design and implementation of the Appeal interventions based on insights from the Human Rights Violations Assessment Report. The five ACT-Malawi Forum members have identified the following as response areas for the implementation of the Appeal: CARD: Nsanje and Thyolo districts in Southern Region targeting about 5100 households (~25,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries).