A recently released Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Mvac) report has projected that at least 2.6 million Malawians will be food insecure in the 2020/2021 consumption year.
This represents 15 percent of the projected population of 17 677, 952.
According to the report released on Wednesday, out of the total affected population, 2 million people are in rural areas while 585 880 are in urban areas.
It further shows that the overall vulnerable population in 2020/2021 consumption has increased by 39 percent due to the inclusion of the urban affected population.
On vulnerable rural population, the report shows an increase by 8 percent as compared to 1.8 million recorded in 2019.
The report attributes the increase to weather related hazards ranging from floods, dry spells and Fall Army Worm and African Army Worm infestation as well as the Covid-19 pandemic which has reduced household income due to job loss.
According to the report, an estimated total humanitarian food assistance of 56,544 Metric Tonnes is required with an estimated cash value of K14 billion to ensure that the affected population survive up to the next harvest period.
