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Malawi - Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC): National Food and Nutrition Security Forecast: April 2016 to March 2017

Malawi - Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC): National Food and Nutrition Security Forecast: April 2016 to March 2017
  • The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Second Round Agriculture Production Estimate Survey show that the country produced 2,431,313 MT of maize in 2015/16 agriculture season compared to 2,776, 277 MT during the previous agriculture season.
  • The MVAC forecast for the April 2016 to March 2017 consumption period, shows that 6,491,847 people will not be able to meet their annual food requirement estimated at 375,393 MT of maize.
  • The affected people are in all the districts of the country except Chitipa, Karonga, Likoma, and Nkhata Bay.
  • Maize prices have been generally high for first quarter (April, May and June) of the 2016/17 consumption year. Prices in the lean months (October to February) will depend on stability of maize supply on the markets.
  • Seven nutrition surveys conducted in May 2016, covering seven Livelihood Zones (and 25 districts), using the SMART Survey Methodology. The survey has estimated the overall Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) at 2.5 percent, which is classified as normal using the WHO Classification of malnutrition. Nevertheless, the results show that there is significant difference in the nutrition situation across the livelihood zones, with Lower Shire Livelihood Zone recording the highest GAM prevalence of 6.6%, which is classified as poor while Kasungu – Lilongwe Plain Livelihood Zone had the GAM prevalence estimated at –1.3 percent.