Malawi, Mlomba School, May 2012

Despite reasonably good food security at the national level in Malawi, certain pockets of the population are unable to meet their annual food requirements. Household food security is undermined by limited access to arable land, chronic poverty, recurrent weather shocks and low levels of education. The objective of country programme 200287 is to support the development of sustained food and nutrition security programmes; it supports pre-school and primary-school children through on-site meals, provides nutrition interventions for children under 5, pregnant and lactating women and tuberculosis patients, and builds the resilience of chronically food-insecure households through food for assets. WFP will target all primary schoolchildren in food-insecure districts with the lowest enrolment, highest drop-out rates and widest gender disparity indicators. Onsite feeding for pupils will help to reduce short-term hunger and improve attention spans. Primary schoolgirls and orphaned boys will receive take-home rations in the second term to reduce drop-out rates and regularize attendance in higher grades. Girls and boys will be supported so they can benefit equally from educational opportunities.

Lunch time at Lengwe School.

Photographs: WFP/David Orr