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<p>Each year the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) assesses food availability
in Malawi and publishes the official figure for those who are likely to be food insecure
over the year. This year, at over 2.8m people, the figure is the highest for a decade.
The UK was one of the first development partners to respond to Malawi’s international
appeal for emergency aid in October 2015. The UK has now committed £14.5m, which includes
provision of food for over 800,000 people, mass screening of up to 800,000 children
to identify urgent nutritional support needs and specialist nutrition supplies for
over 140,000 children and others suffering from acute malnutrition.</p><p> </p><p>DFID
continues to monitor the situation, through formal assessments, community consultation
and ongoing engagement with partners. Maize prices are high and increasing and food
availability on markets is unpredictable. The Government of Malawi has released maize
from its reserves and has bought additional supplies from Zambia, although there are
ongoing concerns about effectiveness of its distribution. DFID continues to work with
partners to help Malawi break the cycle of recurrent food insecurity crises year after
year.</p><p> </p>
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