Salutary Move

Africa is noted for diverse natural disasters. From diseases to hunger passing through floods, the continent has been grappling for decades without a major headway. For the past years, the food situation has become more complicated especially with the advent of El Nino-linked drought (Niño is a local warming of surface waters that takes place in the entire equatorial zone of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean of the Peruvian coast and which affects the atmospheric circulation worldwide). Early this year, a state of disaster was declared south of the continent where around 68 million people are suffering. The drought, which began in early 2024, has severely impacted agriculture and regional economies due to El Niño-induced drought that has devastated crops and caused widespread food shortages. Despite a clarion call from leaders of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), food security crisis has persisted. 
To curb the phenomenon, Malawi has taken a solo move by requesting for a financial aid package of $11.2 million from the African Development Bank (BAD). The payout that was announced last Monday is expected to energize Malawi’s drought insurance policy and the putting in place of new agricultural techniques. With the benediction of the African Risk Capacity Group, an agency of the African Union, the funds will support food assistance to around 235,000 households in some of Malawi's hardest-hit regi...