520,000 Malawians on 'watch list' for possible starvation

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

BLANTYRE (AFP) — Despite a maize surplus, some half-a-million Malawians affected by drought may face food shortages before the 2008 harvest, a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) official said Saturday.

"Some 520,000 people in four districts which were affected by drought are on close watch as they may face risk of food shortages before next year's harvest," Matthews Nyirenda told AFP.

Nyirenda, citing a recent report by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, composed of donors and the government, said four of the country's 28 drought-affected areas were being watched closely.

The districts include Karonga and Mzimba in the north, Ntchisi in the central region and Mulanje in the south.

The WFP would soon review the food security...