00:00Malawi has in recent months been hit odd by a prolonged dry spell that has affected farmers
00:12and decreased their harvests. This has caused a widespread food shortage in the country.
00:19Even residents of the country's capital, Lilongwe, have been affected by the shortfall.
00:24The government says more than four million people are facing food shortages. The situation
00:32is expected to worsen until the next harvest season in March 2026. As Angapengs continue to
00:40bite across the country, newly elected President Peter Mutareka has moved to address the situation.
00:47He has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international help. The government says many
00:53communities urgently need help. We're calling upon local and international partners to come
01:01forward and support the families that are food insecure. Our budget is $119 million for us
01:13to support all these families. The state of disaster has been declared in 11 of the country's 28
01:21districts, and those most affected by the hunger are already receiving food donations from the
01:27government. The long drought in the country has caused crop failure and led to high commodity prices.
01:35Some families are missing meals as a result. For many residents of Makatani, on the outskirts
01:42of Malawi's largest city and capital, Lilongwe, the situation is dire. With some now forced to rely
01:49in donations of maize and other foodstuffs to survive. When people come to grind their maize
01:56and process it into flour, I help them and some of them give me maize bran for my meal. But in the past,
02:03they could give me a lot of bran to process into flour for my family. As desperation grows,
02:10and the drought across Malawi persists, the government is stepping up efforts to take food to the doorsteps
02:16of some of the hardest hit communities. It's appealing to international donors and agencies
02:21to step in with much needed assistance, even as organizations such as the World Food Programme
02:27also do their best to ease the suffering of communities in the most affected districts in Malawi.
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