September 1, 2012 Malawi: 1.6 million face acute hunger due to
food shortage To help families cope with the serious food
scarcity, World Vision is providing food aid and supporting
alternative livelihoods for families. More than 1.6 million
people in 15 districts in southern Malawi are coping with
serious food shortages, an increase of 200,000 since 2011. Those
struggling to feed themselves now make up nearly 12 percent of
the national population. A turn for the worst The price of maize
has more than doubled, and many families are eating only once a
day, says a report from the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment
Committee. People are selling household items to buy food and
seeking jobs in urban areas. Lengthy dry spells over the past
three years, current high food prices, and recent devaluation of
the currency are factors in the current crisis, according to the
World Food Program. For Fatima Tchotcho, an 80-year-old blind
woman from Nsanje district, events this year have taken a turn
for the worst. Fatima grows m