LILONGWE - As part of the $4 million in new funding announced last week, the U.S government will provide $1.5 million to help distribute food and other relief items to communities affected by Cyclone Freddy. The contribution from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will deliver life-saving food assistance and other essential items to more than 142,000 people whose lives have been turned upside down by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
USAID and the World Food Programme (WFP) are partnering with the Government of Malawi to deliver the food assistance, which includes corn-soya blend—a partially precooked fortified food consumed as porridge—vegetable oil, and pulses. Since road access continues to be a major challenge, and some populations are still isolated due to rising water levels, the contribution will also support urgent air logistics support with a helicopter to support the airlift of urgently needed medical supplies, food, and other relief items.
“We are committed to helping Malawi recover from this disaster as quickly as possible,” said USAID acting Mission Director, Anna Toness. “As part of our response, we are pleased to partner with WFP and the Government of Malawi to provide food assistance to people affected by the cyclone, and will continue to work with our partners to support both urgent relief and longer-term recovery efforts.”
To date, USAID has provided approximately $5 million to affected communities through humanitarian assistance and ongoing development projects. The U.S. government is committed to supporting the Malawian people to respond to and recover from the disastrous results of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
USAID/Malawi