“Malawi is hurting. The signs are everywhere—empty granaries, mothers skipping meals so their children can eat, and markets where the price of maize, our staple food, has soared beyond the reach of ordinary families,” said Pamela Kuwali, Country Director of CARE Malawi and Food Systems Leader, in a stark warning issued Thursday.
Speaking ahead of the peak lean season, Kuwali revealed that more than 4 million Malawians—about 22% of the population—are projected to face acute food insecurity between October 2025 and March 2026. “Without urgent action, millions will slip into emergency levels of hunger,” she said.
Kuwali emphasized that this crisis is not new, but part of a worsening trend. “Compare this to an average of 4.5 million last year and around 3.5 million the year before, and you see a pattern that should alarm every policymaker.”
She traced the roots of the crisis to decades of systemic fragility. “Our agriculture has always depended on rain, leaving us vulnerable to every drought and flood,” she explained. “In the 1990s, structural adjustment programs dismantled state-led agricultural support without building resilient alternatives. Since then, we’ve mostly relied on short-term fixes like fertilizer subsidies—with minimal investments in irrigation or weather-resilient farming.”
The situation has been compounded by successive shocks. “When COVID-19 hit, it disrupted supply chains, wiped out informal jobs, and drained household savings,” Kuwali said. “Then came global economic turmoil—rising fuel prices, currency depreciation, and conflicts far beyond our borders. For Malawi, that meant erratic supply chains, skyrocketing input costs, and farmers unable to afford the seeds and fertilizer they need to grow food.”
With inflation at nearly 28% and food inflation at almost 36%, maize prices have surged by more than 54% in a single year—now exceeding MK1,100 per kilogram. “For millions of Malawians, maize—the lifeline—is slipping out of reach,” she said.
Kuwali pointed to Cyclone Freddy in 2023 as a turning point that deepened the crisis. “It was one of the deadliest storms in our history, sweeping away homes, roads, and irrigation schemes. Each time disaster strikes, recovery takes longer, costs more, and leaves deeper wounds.”
She stressed that the human toll is borne most heavily by women and children. “Female-headed households are one and a half times more likely to be food insecure. Malnutrition among children is rising, threatening to reverse hard-won gains in education and health.”
Calling for systemic reform, Kuwali criticized persistent inefficiencies and misallocation of resources. “Corruption and inefficiency have drained resources meant for the poor. District development plans rarely prioritize food security—and when they do, implementation is slow and fragmented.”
She challenged the status quo: “Why do we continue to pour billions into fertilizer subsidies that fail to deliver sustainable results? Why are irrigation schemes left unrepaired after every cyclone?”
Kuwali urged a collective response beyond government—calling on development partners, the private sector, civil society, and citizens to act. “Hunger is not only a humanitarian issue—it is an economic and social time bomb.”
While CARE Malawi is scaling up cash transfers, nutrition programs, and community-led irrigation initiatives, Kuwali said these efforts alone are insufficient. “The scale of this crisis demands a united response. Without decisive, united action, hunger will become a permanent feature of our national landscape.”
She ended with a clear message: “The time to act is now—because resilience cannot wait.”