Malawi - ACT: 30-Sep-03

Action by Churches Together (ACT) Appeal - Malawi Famine Recovery & Mitigation - AFMW-31 Appeal Target: US$ 3,167,698 Balance Requested from ACT Network: US$ 2,676,454 29 September 2003

Malawi was one of the three most affected Southern African countries in the food crisis that threatened the lives of over 13 million people in the region during the 2002/2003 season. Over 3.2 million people were identified as needing relief food estimated at 485,000 tonnes by the FAO and WFP. The ACT alliance responded to the crisis through an ACT appeal AFMW-22 which had a target of $5.4 million. The appeal attracted a response coverage of 57%. The last crop harvest in June and July 2003 recorded significant improvement in the food production in the region according to the FAO and WFP reports. The government of Malawi through its Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation announced a cereal harvest of 2.056 million tonnes. Add the carryover stocks brought forward and the informal cross-border imports of maize and rice from the neighbouring countries, the total national cereal availability is estimated at 2.319 million tonnes for an expected utilisation of 2.413 million tonnes. The gap of 94,000 tonnes is expected to be covered by commercial imports and some food aid. Our ACT members who are working in some of the most marginalized areas of the country have reported that despite the good level of food production for the country, most rural Malawians have no proper access to food and remain hungry and impoverished. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has added to the crisis of the food insecurity to most rural communities. In this appeal, the ACT members, Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP), Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Church of Central Africa Presbyterian – Blantyre Synod (CCAP-Blantyre – Synod), CCAP- Livingstonia, Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) are proposing to provide relief food to the food insecure in their areas of operations and also provide agricultural inputs and tools to selected households who have lost all means of recovering from the last drought. The programs also intend to address the needs of vulnerable and weak families in the health sector and also ensure that malnourished children are given appropriate assistance for the immediate and long term. All the ACT members undertook comprehensive needs assessments between June and July that formed the basis for their planned response programmes in the appeal. It should be mentioned that the proposal for CARD does not form part of this appeal as it is still being finalised and will be included in the appeal at a later stage. Project Completion Dates: CCAP Blantyre Synod - 30 June 2004 CCAP Livingstonia Synod - 31 July 2004 NCA/CHAM - 31 August 2004 ELDP - 31 August 2004 Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested CCAP Blantyre CCAP Liv. NCA /CHAM ELDP Total Targets US$ Appeal Targets 782,190 1,128,204 715,925 541,379 3,167,698 Less: Pledges/Contr Recd 379,000 0 0 112,244 491,244 Balance Requested from ACT Network 403,190 1,128,204 715,925 429,135 2,676,454 John Nduna Acting Director, ACT GENERAL BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION The ACT members in Malawi are requesting assistance to address the problem of food insecurity in the country and prepare communities on strategies to deal with future emergencies. The Malawi ACT Forum was formed in the first half of the year 2002 to better co-ordinate the emergency responses. The Forum comprises: Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD), Project Office of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Blantyre Synod Development Department of the Synod of Livingstonia, Danchurchaid (DCA) Christian Heath Association of Malawi (CHAM) Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP) The ACT Forum has agreed that a joint appeal be submitted to ACT-Geneva as a follow-up to the Food Relief Appeal (Appeal AFMW-22) that has just been completed in May 2003. The idea is to consolidate the different efforts that have been done by different agencies in ensuring that communities become food secure; and also prepare them for future emergencies. In creating the unique partnership, ACT members have succeeded in providing value added services, which complement other Government and international efforts to develop a long-term sustainable environment for the people of Malawi. It is hoped that this close working relationship and co-operation will ensure an immediate and carefully planned response to developing emergencies. To ensure effective and smooth co-ordination for implementation of relief and rehabilitation programs, the ACT partners operate in demarcated needy areas, according to their local presence, capacity and existing infrastructures. All the ACT members have long time experience in implementing relief operations, except CHAM who are health service providers running Christian hospitals. They have developed the capacity to implement relief and rehabilitation activities and created strong links with both the communities and local government officials. Each ACT member has carried out a survey in their areas to determine the actual needs of the communities. While reflecting the general situation in Malawi as a country, the appeal will highlight specific conditions in specific communities and suggest programmes that will try and address those problems. Background Description of the Emergency Situation On 29 July 2003, the United Nations launched a 2003-2004 Regional Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for Southern Africa. This appeal recognises that despite the fact that the humanitarian assistance and a better harvest in much of the region have improved the food situation, further assistance is needed for those families that have not been able to recover from last year’s crisis. Quoting the Southern African Humanitarian Crisis Update from UNRIACSO (4 August 2003), “Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to sell household items and livestock to survive last year’s crisis and cannot afford to buy the food which is now available in markets. Seeds and fertilisers are still urgently needed to produce future harvests, as are medicines to fight life threatening diseases”. A Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Food Programme (FAO/WFP) crop and food supply assessment mission took place in May 2003. The mission confirmed the crop harvest estimates made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and is announcing a cereal harvest of 2.056 million tonnes. With the addition of carryover stocks brought forward and informal cross-border imports of maize and rice, the total national cereal availability is estimated to be about 2.319 million tonnes for an expected utilisation of 2.413 million tonnes. The gap of 94,000 tonnes of cereal is expected to be covered by commercial imports and some food aid, the latter already being in the country. Looking at the figures, Malawi should therefore have an adequate food supply. The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) is planning to export 100 000 tonnes out of the 250 000 tonnes from its carry over stock and that is not selling very well on the market due to an excess of supply and loss of quality of the maize stored in the silos. However, the Government has indicated that it will keep another 100 000 tonnes in the Strategic Grain Reserve, readily available in the event of possible maize shortages on the domestic market (Famine Early Warning System Network FEWS Net report mid-July to mid-August). Despite the overall food availability, access to food remains a major problem for many Malawians whose level of income does not allow them to purchase the food. Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with 65.3 percent of Malawians who are poor and among them 28.7 percent are extremely poor (Integrated Household survey 1998). It is also very likely that the two consecutive years of food crisis (2001-2003) have resulted in a deepening of the poverty and in the loss of assets in many households who had to sell them to cope with the situation. Despite the emergency response that has been put in place, Malawi remains faced with a very deep developmental crisis with long-term implications. The FAO/WFP crop and food assessment mission report identifies the following elements to explain the magnitude of this crisis: High dependence on one sector – the agricultural sector- for income and growth Low productivity and production in the agricultural sector; high population density has not led to agricultural intensification but rather to rapid depletion of soil nutrients Dominance of one food crop; conversely, insufficient crop diversification especially towards drought resistant crops Insufficient attention to soil fertility management, water management and holistic farming in the rural farming systems Insufficient resources going into agricultural support services Lacklustre performance in the cash crop sector Insufficient expansion in rural labour markets Inadequate rural infrastructure Low levels of educational achievements The HIV/AIDS pandemic The toll of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a large impact on the food production levels of the country as it is mostly affecting the economically active adults: prevalence rate at national level is 19,5 percent (2001) but varies greatly between districts and ranges from 9,6 percent to 38,5 percent. In addition to this, the pandemic increases the costs of living of many affected families who need to buy medicines, to care for the sick or contribute to funeral expenses. Another consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is the dramatic number of orphans1 For 7,5 % of all Malawian children aged 14 years or younger one of their parents is deceased (Malawi, an atlas of social statistics 2002) 1 that are left behind as well as an increasing number of single headed, and especially female or child headed, households. These households represent the most destitute part of the population, also being the most vulnerable to sexual and political abuses and as such should and will be the priority target group to benefit from assistance. The latest developments of the macroeconomic situation are worrisome, as the country has just experienced a 15 percent inflation rate between July and August 2003. The Malawi Kwacha fluctuated between 89 and 93 MKw/ 1USD in July and reached an average level of 105 MKw/ 1USD in the third week of August. This inflation could have a high impact on commodity prices, including those of food, especially if the fuel prices are raised. Such a situation was unexpected at this time of year when the opposite scenario is expected to happen as the tobacco sales are bringing foreign currency into the country. An explanation put forward is the withholding of funds by donors who request better transparency from the Government of Malawi. An increase in commodity prices will have direct repercussions on the already limited access to food experienced by many households, thus increasing further the risk of food shortage for a majority of the poor, market-dependent households. This illustrates once more the vulnerability of the country to fluctuations and the difficulty in securing food access to its population. It also underlines the importance of conserving a well supplied Strategic Grain Reserve as well as to control exports to countries in the region such as Zimbabwe and some parts of Tanzania and Kenya, that are experiencing food shortages (FEWS Net report Mid-July to Mid-August 2003). Concerning the agricultural production 2002-2003, despite improved harvests for cereals, roots and tubers, several areas have experienced crop failures for the third consecutive year due to locally adverse weather conditions (drought and/or floods) and pest attacks. The FAO/WFP mission has estimated that approximately 131 500 people will require food assistance beginning in July 2003; this will peak to 400 000 people from January to March 2004. Assistance will take the form of food aid (30 600 tonnes of cereals) as well as agricultural inputs distributions. The mission estimated that between 175 000 and 200 000 households have suffered crop losses in nine districts within Mzuzu Agricultural Development Division (ADD), especially in Mzimba and Rumphi Rural Development Projects (RDP), Karonga ADD, Salima ADD, Lilongwe ADD and Blantyre ADD, especially in Blantyre, Mwanza and Phalombe RDPs. Food assistance for HIV/AIDS affected households and other vulnerable groups outside the nine districts will also be provided by the 2003/2004 Regional CAP. The Government of Malawi, with support from DFID has decided to continue the Targeted Input Programme (TIP) this coming season. This year, due to limited funds, the intention is to distribute packs to 1.7 million households as compared to 3.2 millions who benefited from the programme last year. The beneficiary identification is underway (Summer TIP Update issue 2, 15 August 2003). This programme will provide a pack containing sufficient fertilisers, improved maize seed and seed for one of the legumes (beans, groundnuts or soya beans) to plant 0.1 ha. Inputs are currently available in the country but the peak period for input purchase is in September and October and uncertainty remains on whether the level of supply will be able to meet the demand. The low purchasing power of most smallholders is again an important limiting factor for them to access inputs. The TIP has been running for five years but hasn’t succeeded in reaching a sustainable solution to the input access problem (FEWS Net report mid-July to mid-August 2003) and this is raising more and more concern among the stakeholders involved in emergency and food security issues. Each ACT implementing agency (Action by Churches Together) between June and July also conducted parallel local assessments. The objective was to identify the populations in need and the nature of the difficulties that they are facing. The results correlate with the findings from FAO/WFP joint mission in the ADDs mentioned in the CAP but additional areas of need have also been identified. This is in particular the case for the Shire Valley ADD composed of Chikwawa and Nsanje districts where two dry spells occurred and affected the food production of some communities. Moreover, recent floods that followed the opening of a barrage on the Shire river has resulted in the destruction of much needed winter crops as well as of some houses. The precision of the assessments made by well-established local NGOs represents a significant added value to the process of beneficiary identification. These assessments took place in the districts where each agency had been active during the previous crisis and have been used as a basis for the drawing up of the new appeals presented by the ACT agencies. The approach taken by the ACT agencies is very much in line with what the United Nations agencies are recommending and planning to do, with an intervention at two levels. A first level of assistance is concerning direct food aid to the most destitute population (HIV/AIDS affected families, female and child headed households, families with many orphans). The second level of response aims at assisting the affected households to regain their means of production as well as to improve their food production. In the light of last year’s response to the crisis the ACT partners can confidently state that their intervention made a difference in the lives of the people that they assisted. Good co-ordination with the other existing food aid pipelines was established, the major one being under the responsibility of the WFP and implemented by the Joint Emergency Food Aid Programme (JEFAP) consortium of NGOs. The experience shows also that there is no incompatibility in having two or more pipelines involved in food or other type of aid activities as long as an efficient co-ordination and sufficient communication and information sharing is practised at national as well as district level. The level of funding received for the 2002/2003 Regional Consolidated Appeal (CAP) is only 73 percent of the 656 million USD for the region and of 75 percent for the programme in Malawi. The majority of the donations were earmarked for food aid, while non-food aid remained seriously under funded (UNRIACSO Southern African Humanitarian Crisis Update 4 August 2003). A lesson to be learnt from this experience is that non- food aid seems to be slightly disregarded by donors. It is therefore hoped that the presentation of the situation as described above as well as the argumentation developed in the individual appeals will convince the donor community of the importance of assisting a significant part of the population of Malawi to recover from the recent consecutive food crises that eroded their assets and coping strategies, which in Malawi means that the line between emergency and ordinary poverty is very thin. The ACT appeals, in a similar pattern to the CAP from the UN agencies, are indeed only partially including food aid in their response and concentrate mainly on much needed recovery programmes. The ACT agencies in Malawi have held monthly ACT Fora since June 2002 and these regular meetings have greatly improved the co-ordination of activities as well as the capacities of each individual agency. The Forum has now matured and is planning to continue working together on capacity building and to intensify its co-ordination work both internally and with other actors such as the Government of Malawi, the District Commissioners and District Assemblies, WFP and the implementing NGOs, other UN agencies, C-SAFE. Following the completion of the last Appeal AFMW-22, a workshop on lessons learnt was organised by the Malawi ACT Forum. Lessons learnt were at the workshop and these lessons will contribute to strengthening the response in the new appeals. Moreover, the experience gained and the improved capacity in emergency response encourages the implementing agencies to work towards long-term solutions as presented in the appeals. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), Blantyre Synod IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION CCAP Projects Office Relief Programme has been operational since early 2002 in Malawi with a field base in Chingale. The main aim of this disaster relief intervention was to alleviate suffering and preserve the lives of persons in the Chingale Division of Zomba District affected by drought and famine through the provision of emergency relief supplies in a way that would restore the health of the most vulnerable sectors of the population as well as equip the general target group to regain and manage their own future food security. Out of the Chingale Division’s total population of 189,000 the initial targeted population was expanded from 26,000 persons to 50,000 persons (8,500 households in 192 villages) under five group village headmen of Balamanja, Masaula, Fikira, Mbukwite and Nkasala. The intervention time frame was extended from the initial 4 months to 16 months; the total time frame covered by this evaluation extends from February 2002 through May 2003. The five areas chosen have been the worst hit with floods and drought for the last two years, resulting in high levels of malnutrition and a high under-five mortality rate. BACKGROUND Chingale Project is situated in the west of Zomba District at altitude 850metres above sea level. The Thondwe Agriculture Extension Planning Area bounds it to the south-west, and Blantyre to the west. To the north-west is the Shire River and Balaka District while Machinga District is to the north-east. The area has an annual rainfall of about 900mm with a mean temperature of 25 degrees Celsius with the hottest day temperature of 37 degrees Celsius during October to March. With a rapid population growth of over 4% per annum (Health Ministry figures), rapid settlements of the late fifties and early sixties and political influence the land was heavily under pressure. This resulted in destruction of natural resources impacting in environmental degradation. Almost all the hills are bare since trees have been cut for charcoal production. People have resorted to cultivating along the riverbanks and the marginal land along and on top of the hills resulting in most of the rivers becoming dry immediately after the rains. Politically this area is divided into two constituencies i.e. Zomba Lisanjala and Zomba Chingale. The area has suffered under-development for a long time to the extent that it gets cut off from the rest of the country during the rainy season (bridges and roads get washed away). In terms of the country’s Agricultural Administrative organisation, there are 8 Agricultural Development Divisions (ADD). Under these ADDs there are Project Offices. Chingale is under Zomba project in Liwonde ADD and is called an Extension Planning Area. This extension planning area has 18 sections that are manned by Agricultural Extension Officers. Out of these 18 only 10 have been filled the rest are unmanned. The total land size is 40,000 hectares of which only 21,620 hectares are arable. The average land holding size is 0.8 hectare. Apart from the Central Government Administration, the country also has Traditional Administration (TA) structures with the traditional authority as the top- most rank in a district. Under the TA there are group villages who in turn have village headmen under them. There are 6 Traditional Authorities in Zomba; Chingale falls under one traditional authority with 7 group village headmen with 240 villages. In the new phase the programme will work with all the 240 villages, under 12 centres. The main crop grown in the area is maize seconded by rice along the river Shire and wetlands. People also grow some leguminous crops such as groundnuts, pigeon peas, cowpeas and, of late, Soya beans. Adoption of new agricultural technologies is very low and most of the farmers grow local maize. Because most farmers have a low economic base, they cannot afford high-price farm inputs. This has resulted in most of the households producing just enough maize for four months of the year. There are only 153 hectares of irrigated land in the project of which about 90 hectares are under treadle or motorised pumps. About 160 households have access to loan facilities; most farmers are unable to get loan facilities because of high interest rates, which are up to 50% per annum. There are about 1,650 heads of cattle, 10,800 goats, 2,500 sheep, 37,300 chickens, 400 pigs, 1000 turkey, 1650 guinea fowls and 300 rabbits. From these figures, the livestock population of the area is very low in relation to the human population. GOAL, OBJECTIVES & MEASURABLE INDICATORS Goal: the overall goal is to rehabilitate the community functioning at an equivalent or better level than prior to the famine and HIV/AIDS crises. Objectives & Measurable Indicators Improved food security through integrated food security programme. Priority to crop diversification methods, extension services, use of manure, soil and water conservation; to reach over 11,000 households with agricultural extension methods and required farm inputs. Improved child survival programmes including health and hygiene, education, nutrition and child protection issues. To reduce morbidity and mortality in children 0-5 and women 15-49 years old; train 5,000 mothers on better child care; hygiene education; ensure teachers are sensitised on the protection issues of children; Improved women participation in decision-making, education, health, food security and guidance against abuses. Ensure women enrolment in adult literacy classes, children under –five attending pre-schools, opening school gardens etc Improved psychosocial support to families in crisis due to famine Improved awareness programme in terms of community participation; formation of focus groups, Community Development Committees etc. Preventive food rations for high-risk communities; and incentive or food for agriculture, an approach based on compensating the communities especially women for participating in other programmes. TARGETED BENEFICIARIES The programme will target the most vulnerable groups in the community, specifically 8,500 farm families- sixty-eight percent of the farming families are poor, female headed households and with children in the under five programme. 5,000 Children under five years of age. 16,000 school children between 5 and 12 years in the school-feeding programme. 820 orphan children. 2,500 persons in the psychosocial adult literacy, pre-schools and recreation programme. 3,500 HIV/AIDS infected and affected persons-eighty percent of these are women and children. Affected persons include elderly grand parents who look after AIDS orphans. Criteria in selecting vulnerable households Through assessing levels of income, possession of livestock, and other resources. Malnutrition in children will be determined by a height census or survey of children entering grade school, or on weight-for-age of children under five years old. Availability of land for cultivation (0.5ha) on average and capacity of households to work it. Beneficiaries must not be recipients of aid from other organisations. PROPOSED EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE, IMPLEMENTATION & TRANSITION The overall design in the recovery and mitigation phase is the emphasis on community participation. Start –up time will be shorter because the programme has established credibility, and has trained and experienced staff. All project staff have worked in Chingale for at least one year and speak the same language with the beneficiaries. The project will use the pre-existing “block structure” (smallest political units called Group Headman). Each group will be organised into Joint Rehabilitation Committee (JRCs). Each JRC’s will appoint their own Chairman, Secretary and committee members. Each JRC will consist of 12 women and 8 men. The local authority including the local chiefs, women groups and local churches will be represented in the JRC’s. The 12 Projects Animators (JRCs) will develop community groups called “ Care Groups” of 15 volunteers each who meet bimonthly for training, reporting progress, evaluations and planning. This kind of structure worked very well during the last intervention in Chingale. These were Joint Relief Committees in the five centres. In this proposal food will be organised around the three principles of food distribution within maternal child health and nutrition programmes. The intervention will reinforce development objectives by saving lives and sustaining livelihood: enough resources will be provided to the communities to resume their livelihood and productive capacities. The intervention complements the provision of food aid, which was necessary to sustain lives in the short run. Given the dependence on agriculture in Malawi, the intervention will help move the population from dependence towards a state of self-sufficiency. The Chingale Recovery and Mitigation Programme proposes to implement programmes that are community based and volunteer driven. Community participation and animation will be given priority. The four key areas of intervention, have been chosen based on the following criteria: Morbidity and mortality rates in project area: data from field staff through a rapid assessment indicates a large number of deaths from both adults and children. Likelihood of success from lessons learned in Chingale in Phases one and two of the last intervention. Results from the focus groups in the field. Priority needs of the communities including psychosocial support to those affected and traumatised by the famine crisis. CHILD SURVIVAL INTERVENTION The Intervention falls into two major categories: Maternal Nutrition and breastfeeding, and childhood nutrition, particularly at the most vulnerable ages. The target group for education will be mothers of children under-five years, and a nutrition rehabilitation programme for malnourished children under 5 years old. Activities under child survival will include programmes in one or more of the following areas: health and nutrition, agriculture, education and income generating activities. The Maternal Child health and nutrition programmes will play a key role in this integrated approach, as they address the way food is utilised by the population to improve their health and nutritional status in an effort to reduce malnutrition among children and women. Objectives To improve the health status of children, lactating mothers, pregnant women and HIV/AIDS patients. To prevent and control most of the prevalent diseases that are water borne, like diarrhoea and cholera. Most of the children suffer from diseases that are water related because of drinking or washing in dirty water. Most of the wells in Chingale are broken or unprotected. The programme will rehabilitate 21 shallow wells through replacement of water pumps and slabs. To encourage school enrolment and attendance through incentive school feeding programmes. To promote environmental hygiene and access to clean water. To encourage a self-sustainable nutrition supply. This phase of the programme will reduce the number of malnourished children in the project area by focusing on the most critical times in the child’s life: the first 36 months, particularly weaning. The nutritional strategy comprises two sets of interventions. The growth monitoring with appropriate counselling and education will be conducted together with Ministry of Health. Secondly the preventive approach will be adopted to provide food rations to households with vulnerable members at high risk of malnutrition. The food rations will be used to ensure adequate dietary intake while complementary interventions are provided, such as health services and education of mothers and caregivers on childcare, health and nutrition practices. Child and Mother Care Intervention: All nutritional interventions will address specific dangerous practices such as taking the child off the breast when becoming pregnant as well as insufficient number of times of feeding per day and nutrient poor meals. To bring sustainable improvement in nutritional and health status, the programme will include the following components related to health and nutrition: - Training of health promoters and mothers in the control of diarrhoea diseases and care of respiratory infections; in all 12 designated focus centres in Chingale. Each focus group will train 60 Volunteer Health Workers (VHW) in one year; they will be trained by the three nurses on hygiene practices, home cleanliness, environmental health etc. Education about and promotion of vaccinations for children; the programme will co-ordinate with Ministry of Health at Zomba District Hospital to promote vaccination of children against measles, polio and other immunisable diseases. Pre-natal and post natal care for pregnant mothers: help mothers to identify clinics for prenatal and postnatal services; Nutrition education and distribution of micro-nutrients like vitamin and iron to children and mothers; High vitamin and protein food will be provided to severely malnourished children and mothers. The most notable is Likuni Phala or UNIMIX for children under five years. Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding practices for children under –five years; Information/education about reproductive health services, including family planning and control of STDs and HIV/AIDS. STDs and HIV/AIDS education will be promoted in all the 12 centres. The community will be educated on the best practices to avoid being infected with AIDS. For those already affected a care providers programme will be established. School Feeding Programme: This is a food incentive programme for children between ages 6-12 years who left school during the famine crisis. This is a daily porridge supply to pupils in standards one to four. The porridge contains maize flour, sugar and salt. Voluntary mothers cook it while beneficiaries bring firewood. Local teachers help out in the daily distribution, controlling the queuing system and curbing problems caused by older pupils who are not part of the exercise. Teachers have reported a dramatic 67% increase in the number of children enrolled and student performance was reported to have improved by 70% since this project was first implemented. The programme will be implemented in 24 primary schools in Chingale in collaboration with World Food Programme and Ministry of Education. About 16,000 will benefit from the programme daily for the next six months. HIV/AIDs Care Programme: Nutritional care and support will promote the well-being, self-esteem and positive attitude to life for people and their families living with HIV/AIDs. Health and balanced nutrition should be one of the goals of counselling and care for people at all stages of HIV infection. An effective programme of nutritional care and support will improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS by: - Maintaining body weight and strength; Replacing lost vitamins and minerals; Improving the function of immune system; Extending the period from infection to development of the AIDS diseases; Improving response to treatment Keeping HIV infected people active, allowing them to take care of themselves and their families; Keeping HIV infected people productive, able to work, grow food and contribute to the income of their families. The HIV virus attacks the immune system. In the early stages of infection a person shows no visible signs of illness, but later many of the signs of AIDS will become apparent, including weight loss, fever and diarrhoea and opportunistic infection. Good nutritional status is very important from the time a person is infected with HIV. Nutrition education at this early stage gives the person a chance to build up healthy eating habits and to take action to improve food security in the home, particularly as regards the cultivation, storage and cooking of food. The Chingale Recovery and Mitigation Programme will strive to work with 300 persons confirmed to be living with AIDS and 820 AIDS orphans. The programme will provide some opportunistic medical care, food and a food security programme. The project nurses will also provide counselling services. Rehabilitation of water system: In Chingale water related and water borne diseases are one of the major causes of high morbidity and mortality rates among children. This is because water distribution is inadequate. The target population is 60,000 persons living in approximately 192 villages. There are 165 water resources of which 116 are bore holes, 5 protected wells, 42 pipes and 2 springs. 30% of these water resources are out of use due to one reason or another i.e. breakdown, parts stolen by thieves etc. One well serves 250 people. This reveals that more people are inaccessible to good drinking water supplies. In other areas women and children walk long distances to carry water causing major strains on the quality of their lives. This has resulted in low yield production and participation in community development projects as more time is wasted in walking from one point to another to get water. Strategies Rehabilitation of old water supplies. Provision of more bore holes, protected wells, springs and gravity piped water supplies. Activities Involvement of community in the construction and maintenance of rural gravity fed water schemes. Training of repair teams, voluntary pump caretakers and water committees for rural water schemes. Train local communities in sanitation around bore holes and pumps to reduce the incidence of diseases. Community Monitoring System: Another important component of this programme is the promotion of community based monitoring systems that rely on promoters and families for data and are linked to public and or private health providers. Such systems are critical, for example, in identifying children suffering from problems requiring referral for high-level medical treatment. ENHANCED FOOD SECURITY INTERVENTION Goal The main goal is to achieve improved medium- to long-term food security for 8,500 vulnerable farming households in Chingale through increased food production. Another goal is to provide another food crop to promote food diversification in order to reduce the psychological and actual dependence on maize alone. The second crop will also function as a safety net, in case the main crop fails. The use of fertilisers is intended as a one-off boost to farmers, but compost manure will be encouraged. Objectives To improve the food security of 8,500 vulnerable farming households from the 2003 main harvest (April/May) up to at least the end of 2004 by enabling food production to be increased. Train existing staff about the aims and purpose of this food security intervention and recruit and train additional project staff. Work with local community leaders, local committees and farmers clubs, to explain the aims of food security and develop appropriate selection criteria. Conduct awareness training of beneficiary households on good crop husbandry practices and crop diversification. Ensure that selection criteria are adhered to at the time of distribution and that there is a high degree of local community participation in the distribution process. PROPOSED ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION Implementation Mechanism The programme is volunteer driven and based on community care groups model developed in the emergency phase of the Chingale programme. The community will be organised around “ contact farmers” approach. From each of the 12 Joint Rehabilitation Committees (JRCs), the community members will nominate a sub-committee responsible for food security. The sub-committee will consist of 15 people from each community. The committees will be appointed on the basis of being good farmers or practising good farming. The contact farmers will act as stimuli or catalysts to the rest. The most prominent ones will be given the role of contact farmers. These will be trained and equipped with relevant skills by the project field staff. In turn the contact farmers will go back to their communities well equipped and knowledgeable to train other farmers. The multiplier effect will be enhanced until all household members in the community including women are effective and efficiently managing their own small farms. It is expected that the food security committees will be able to manage their own affairs when the donors pull out. Training of farmers in crop husbandry: Every farmer will have access to new farming technologies. Farmers from one particular village will be clustered into one cell and amongst them prominent farmers will be appointed. Farms of these contact farmers will be utilised for demonstration and training purposes. The extension workers appointed by the programme will give crop and animal husbandry lessons. The extension methods will offer technical information; advisory services and support services to smallholder farmers to enable them meet their needs and aspirations within the overall national agricultural objectives. The agricultural extension and training objectives are as follows: - To contact male and female farmers with appropriate and timely farming messages through the use of block and other applicable extension systems. Messages will be on crop and animal husbandry techniques, land use methods that will enhance water and soil conservation etc. To expand contact with female farmers through use of targeted extension messages, service and innovative and suitable methods for working directly with women; To provide direction and technical advice to male and female farmers on agricultural programmes through the development of specific strategies and targeted activities e.g. horticultural farming, irrigation etc. To provide improved seeds e.g. hybrid maize and composite seed etc. Encourage Maize Production as a major crop: Maize is grown largely for home consumption, not for sale. Other crops make a more important contribution to smallholders’ cash incomes than maize. The smallholder sub-sector accounts for around 90 per cent of total maize production. Maize contributes 67 per cent of the calories in the Malawian diet and maize production takes 70 per cent of cultivated land. In 2001-2002 the average household maize deficit was 5.7 months and 86 per cent of households bought maize in the 2002 lean period. The aim of the smallholder farmer is to produce as much food as possible,” because smallholders are risk-averse and seek to avoid dependence on the market. In Chingale the programme will encourage the community to grow maize for consumption and also as a cash crop. Suitable maize seed and fertilisers will be provided to 8,500 farm households this year, especially for the summer cultivation in October 2003. Crop Diversification: The idea behind crop diversification is to grow crops other than traditional ones as well as production of other crops not promoted in the past in Chingale area. In recent years crop failures have been experienced because of drought, flood, pests and disease outbreaks, and other adverse weather conditions. As a result it has become necessary to grow more than one crop in order to reduce risks of crop failure. Where more than one crop is grown in the season, the farmers reduce the risk of total loss of food supply and cash return in the event of some of the crop failing. In Chingale cassava was introduced in the last intervention. Four thousand farm households were provided with Cassava cuttings and beans. The programme will introduce other crops like sweat potatoes, vegetables, soya bean, cowpeas, sorghum and millet. Vegetable Development: The programme will introduce vegetable gardening in all seasons in Chingale and especially along the Shire River. Vegetables are an important source of mineral salts and vitamins, which are vital for health, especially for women and children. In addition to being an important food crop, they provide income. Despite being widely grown in the country, adequate supplies of vegetables are mostly only available in the rainy season. As a result supplies are not adequate throughout the year. Production of other exotic vegetables such as rape, cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, and onion will be encouraged. Farmers will also be encouraged to grow and store indigenous vegetable e.g. Bonongwe, Chitambe and chisoso etc. Compost Manure: Most of the farmers are aware of the advantages of manure especially from the animals and compost. With the ever increasing cost of fertilisers, the use of organic manure becomes more and more important. Manure not only supplies plant nutrients to the soil but also improves its structure, water holding capacity and resistance to erosion. Extension staff will advise the farmers to establish more compost manure instead of purchasing fertilisers. Seed multiplication farms Appropriate seed multiplication technologies will be incorporated in the extension programme and contact farmers will be encouraged to implement these activities. The seed variety of maize, beans and other legumes will be sorted for multiplication purpose. This programme will operate through collaboration with research institutes, other organisations and the Ministry of Agriculture. Establishment of farmers groups in educational and other institutions: The programme will enhance the capacity of institutions like schools, farmers clubs, churches, mosques, adult literacy classes and women to organise themselves into a communal farming system. The communal farming system supports special vulnerable groups such as those without farms or school gardens. Proceeds from these farms go to assist orphan children, disabled people or help vulnerable women’s groups cultivate a crop. Some of the proceeds are sold for communal purposes such as the construction of a school or feeding programme for orphans or HIV victims. The programme will provide appropriate technical support and advice, seed and fertilisers. Community Grain Banks: In times of plenty communities waste resources and commercial businessmen exploit the people by buying all crops harvested. Within a short time, the community finds itself buying at three or four times the price. The programme intends to organise groups under a credit programme. The credit facility will include training of the groups in financial management, purchasing techniques, storage and reselling in times of scarcity. The programme will help the poor buy food at affordable prices during lean times. Livestock Restocking Programme: Livestock diseases have eliminated large numbers of livestock in Malawi. It is estimated that the number of livestock is less than the population. Livestock contributes considerably to the nutrition of people especially the children and women. In Chingale, due to diseases like East Coast fever and foot and mouth many livestock died during 2000-2001. Poultry population was also affected. The programme intends to increase the number of livestock, especially the small ruminants, through a restocking programme. A small stock of 60 goats, 60 sheep and 200 chicken will be purchased from the neighbouring districts and given to groups of people to rear on a communal basis. The animals are expected to multiply and be redistributed to other communities. The distribution criteria will be based on vulnerability of the household and guarantees from Chiefs, JRCs and local authority recommendations. The Programme staff and JRCs will monitor the selection criteria to avoid favouritism and nepotism. Those selected will be trained and equipped with all necessary animal husbandry skills to manage the livestock. Veterinary support will be provided through the Ministry of Agriculture and programme staff. Soya Bean Development: The Soya Bean is the main ingredient (60%) of Likuni Phala or UNIMIX a high protein /vitamin food supplement for children under-five years. The rationale for this programme is to promote the cultivation of soya beans as a raw material for local processing of Likuni Phala by mothers. Mothers in the under-five programme will be encouraged to grow Soya Bean, process it and give to their children as a way to promote nutritional feeding. In the emergency phase 600 women from one centre at Masaula participated in the cultivation of 0.1 acre each on a pilot basis. The trial has been very successful and the programme will be extended to other centres in Chingale. Apart from feeding the children, the legume has many other uses – it has nitrogen fixing capabilities, and can provide protein for human and livestock consumption. It is especially good for pregnant women and lactating mothers. It also serves as a good substitute in areas where groundnut pops are prevalent. The crop can be grown under a wide range of climatic conditions in Malawi. Many commercial processing firms like Rab Process have indicated interest in marketing the product if grown in large quantities in Chingale. Most of the soya for food processing in the country is imported. The programme will target 5,000 women in five centers. Staff Development : Apart from training the community and organising them in farming groups, there is a need to retrain CCAP staff. The Management will organise workshops and seminars for staff. Facilitation will be required from other institutions in Malawi and abroad. Funding will be set aside for short and medium courses. PSYCHOSOCIAL PROGRAMMES Complex emergency situations like famine and assault have consequences for people affected physically, spiritually, psychologically, socially and existentially. Psychosocial efforts are meant to assist in working through, and healing the damage inflicted in a person’s mind and in their social set ups. The psychosocial efforts will build on local initiatives and on the target groups’ participation, and should have a high degree of sensitivity and understanding of the local and cultural context. Experience has shown that psychosocial activities are necessary to stabilise and improve the strong reactions people have after emergency situation. Such activities are necessary to treat “normal reactions” in “ abnormal situations”. In Chingale many families have lost authority, family and social structures no longer function and the lack of these has led to chaos. Necessary local structures and organisation need to be reinforced to take care of these needs. The psychosocial activities such as educational awareness and sports will help heal some of the abnormal situations. Objectives: To assist affected people to attain a stable life and integrated functioning to restore hope, dignity, mental well being and sense of normality. Create awareness and knowledge of psychosocial aspects at all levels i.e. from extension workers to local leaders and the community in general. The Psychosocial programme was introduced in Chingale Rehabilitation Project in 2003. Its core goal was to rehabilitate or restore community functioning at equivalent or better levels prior to the crisis of famine and HIV/AIDS. The target area and beneficiaries were adopted from the five centres that were within the programme namely Fikira, Nkasala, Masaula, Mbukwite, Balamanja and one additional centre at Koloti. Its areas of focus were Early Childhood Development, Functional Literacy, HIV/AIDS Awareness, School Age Recreation and Community Care Givers Training. Early Childhood Development: Early Childhood is tailored towards helping children improve their education level before joining the formal primary school. The target group are children from disadvantaged community families especially mothers with children in the under-five programme. The children are psychologically prepared through interaction with one another, playing, singing, telling stories, cleanliness and reading and writing. They gain confidence and are able to speak openly and air their views. The programme is established around community participation: The community members appoint volunteers teachers, who are then trained by the programme in collaboration with official associations of Pre-schools education. The purpose is for them to understand the current government curriculum and teaching methods. The programme also provides all teaching material and pays honorarium to teachers. The parents have been made to be aware of the importance of sustaining this activity when the donors leave. The programme intends to expand to other villages not covered by this programme. Presently there are six classes with 800 children; five more classes will be established to cater for additional 600 children. Functional Adult Literacy: Eighty five percent of the beneficiaries of relief aid were women and most of them could neither read nor write, therefore the adult literacy project came as a response to thumb printing instead of name signing when receiving relief items. Secondly it will empower women with reading and writing skills, so as to enable them to participate in development work such as in agricultural, health and sanitation projects. Thirdly it will give them necessary understanding through civic education so that they are able to participate and understand their political, social and economic rights. Current Statistics in the adult literacy classes: Center Male Female Total Balamanja Nkasala Malundu Fikira Mbukwite Waliyala Masaula 4 2 4 2 2 - 6 27 85 71 75 36 27 64 31 87 75 77 38 27 70 20 385 405 The above table indicates the number of participants in this programme. This initiative has received a very positive response from the community. It is a community-based intervention and currently includes adult literacy classes at seven centers, with seven teachers trained to teach the 405 persons enrolled, and Pre-Schools with 12 teachers to teach 800 children enrolled. The programme in this phase intends to increase the number of adult literacy centers from seven to twelve to cater for more women interested in the programme. Recreation Activities: During the famine crisis, the youth were just idling around, with many of them turning to stealing, smoking cannabis and drinking illegal brews. Recreational activities were established to occupy most of these youth. Some had formed football and volleyball teams and other games in the past, but due to lack of equipment the teams collapsed. The programme is striving to revive those teams and establish new ones. Women have also organised themselves into netball clubs etc. There are also drama and singing groups depicting the HIV/AIDs messages. These groups have become very effective tools of information dissemination in the community. The youth have also organised themselves into income generating activities such as vegetable and maize cultivation, and rearing of chickens for sale. HIV/AIDS Awareness: the youth through playgroups have been organised to facilitate dissemination of HIV/AIDs information. The programme will enhance their capability through provision of more training, information material and equipment needed. The programme will work closely with the child survival activities. Local competence in Psychosocial work: Care Givers Capacity Building Caregivers are all those involved in one aspect or the other in programme activities. Some of the staff members become traumatised through dealing with some of the problems faced by the more vulnerable affected people. This can manifest itself in the form of nightmares and hallucinations amongst others. They need a staff support system or assistance, which could be spiritual or psychological. A volunteer team consisting of local pastors and competent social counsellors will help and support the staff in the field. Local church groups will also be trained and equipped to handle such cases locally. Strengthening the economic and social welfare of weaker groups in the community e.g. women, especially widows, people living with HIV/AIDs, orphans and children in difficult circumstances. The programmes have assessed and identified several communities who still need long-term support. They are considered vulnerable because they do not own any land or assets of any kind. Another group is the orphan children taking care of their young brothers and sisters; there are also widows whose husbands have died of AIDS or other diseases. These special groups need a kick-start in their economic life. The programme will strive to engage them into meaningful income generating activities so that in the future they are not dependent on donations and aids. They will be given small loans or materials such as seed or hand-tools and trained to start an income generating activity. Child Protection and human right issues: Protection of children and women is a priority and the assistance will be provided with awareness of the threats posed to women and especially female children. There are also dangers faced by men and boys, in each particular aspect. The programme staff will be made aware and understand their responsibilities to reduce, mitigate and prevent additional harm from occurring whenever possible. Violence against women is assessed, monitored and documented throughout the programme cycle. Human right issues will be discussed with the community leaders, so that they are aware of repercussions. Human rights organisations in collaboration with Ministry of Gender and Community Services will be invited to facilitate workshops in the programme area. Preventive Food Rations For High –Risk Communities : The programme will continue to provide food rations to selected high risk community members in accordance with the standards prescribed by WFP. A daily 100% ration per person (equivalent to approximately 2,000 Kcal) comprises: 400 grams cereals, 60 grams pulses, 15 grams edible oil and 5 grams salt. In order to meet the critical food needs of the local population without creating a disincentive for domestic food production, the programme will provide a daily supplementary ration of 400gms of cereal per person for 6 months from the month of January 2004. WFP and other organisations will be approached to provide the rest of the requirement e.g. edible oil, pulses and salt. The target group will include: Severely malnourished children under 5- 4 kgs of UNIMIX (Likuni Phala) per week for two weeks under the child survival programme. Under nourished – 2 kgs of UNIMIX per week for two weeks under child survival programme. 5,000 mothers in under-five programme: Maize and corn flour. 2,000 widows and orphaned people. Disabled persons: Aids Victims who cannot work Elderly persons Field Food monitors will continue to work closely with the local joint relief and rehabilitation committees (JRCs). This will minimise the dilution of food rations as a result of sharing or re-distribution and will help target the most vulnerable persons within each community. Rehabilitation Component In addition to addressing the emergency requirements within Chingale, the programme is also committed to assisting the local population to re-establish support mechanisms and coping strategies in order to be better equipped to respond to future crises. Due to a series of droughts and floods that have affected the country, many people who depend on agricultural production have been subjected to poverty. For people to settle back to their lands they will need support in the agricultural sector through provision of farm inputs e.g. seeds, farm tools and agricultural technology to enable them plant and harvest. In conjunction with its general distribution of emergency food aid, CCAP through its partner Presbyterian Disaster Response Programme will request USAID, BHR, OFDA and ACT to fund rehabilitation programmes in agriculture and various economic development projects. These projects will provide the essential complementary activities. The agricultural development program will provide agricultural inputs (seeds and tools) and training in appropriate agricultural technology to farmers during the period October 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004. The Child Survival care project will assist children under five, pregnant women, lactating mothers, elderly, disabled and chronically ill people, in the same area during the period June 1, 2003 to June 31, 2004. CCAP will establish two primary health care centres in Chingale, which will provide screening of 5,000 children under-five-years per month (an estimated 250 of whom will require therapeutic feeding). And referred to other health centres. Linking Relief To Development/Capacity Building. To provide linkages between this emergency relief assistance and development, a crosscutting theme is capacity building of indigenous NGOs, churches and communities. This includes their participation in all aspects of the project including assessments, planning, distribution, and monitoring. In recognition of the importance of facilitating the transition from relief to development, CCAP is also planning to assist the local community rehabilitate a number of derelict school classrooms and other public buildings in Chingale. These buildings will be used temporarily by CCAP as storage facilities for the food commodities, but will then be handed over to the community once the food distribution has been completed. Training workshops in the OFDA agricultural rehabilitation proposal are planned in the same beneficiary locations. The purpose of these workshops is to enable the beneficiaries to plan ahead and respond in a timely manner to future food shortages and other disasters. Training in community development and awareness will be undertaken through community development groups, e.g. women’s groups and youth and community leaders. Fifteen various groups have been identified for training in capacity building. In addition, CCAP will assist communities in planning disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation. CCAP will assess the existing capacities within the communities in the project area to respond to disaster in the future. This will be done through proposed disaster preparedness workshops to be held during the project implementation. CCAP will strive to help local communities recover from disaster and build self-sufficiency through provision of various services e.g. agricultural rehabilitation, for one year. Rehabilitation assistance will attempt to restore the self-sufficiency of those affected by the drought and disaster affected communities through implementation of projects in which the communities themselves will participate. Qualified personnel from CCAP and trained Malawian counterparts will provide the training for local NGOs, churches and communities. Food security will be substantially increased when the farmers harvest by the end of the planting season, reducing food dependency from outside. New technology through the intended crop husbandry methods will increase the local land productivity. There will be a multiplier effect of 1:4 whereby each of the trained farmers will train 4 more people within the project period. From the present planting, people will generate their own seeds for future plantings. With improved supply of food from the harvest there will be reduction in malnutrition and related diseases. The agricultural implementation plan will be based on a participatory approach to the agricultural program. Wherever possible, Senior Chiefs, Sub-Chiefs and local leaders (housing group leaders) will be involved. CCAP will expand and build upon this current implementation plan and use it as a framework for operations enhancement. CCAP will hire the service of an agriculturist with training in agricultural extension services. He will conduct one-week seminars for identified contact farmers. The farmers will be asked to train 4 farmers each and the process will continue. It is anticipated that this local system will continue after the project has formally ended. With favourable weather, people should be self-sufficient in food production after being given seeds and farming tools. The introduction of newer appropriate technology, seed banks, and training workshops will enable the farmer families to be better prepared for future adverse agricultural situations. The programme will co-ordinate with other NGOs to conduct joint food security and nutrition surveys, modify food distribution plans based on the findings of the assessments, and establish an effective referral system whereby families whose children are admitted to the under 5 clinics are targeted during general food distributions. These under 5 clinics for children under five and other vulnerable persons are provided for in the request to ACT. In addition, CCAP, GTZ and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are jointly involved in relief supply in Zomba District. All of the organisations from the PVO community active in Malawi meet every month to share experiences and co-ordinate future plans of action. CCAPs’ methodology for food distribution is based on a participatory approach. This will facilitate effective targeting of the most vulnerable members of each community and will minimise the diversion and informal redistribution of food aid commodities (practices which result in a much wider distribution of a much smaller amount of food per beneficiary). This method involves the local joint relief and rehabilitation committees (JRRCs) within each centre. The JRRCs will each comprise a maximum of 20 representatives from the following groups: Local church leaders from various denominations District Commissioner representatives Local authority officials, e.g. The Civil Administrator, Traditional leaders, e.g. Senior Chiefs, Sub-Chiefs and GOM leaders. The tribal or senior chiefs are traditional, community-based leaders who are officially recognised by the Government. Women representatives Beneficiary representatives WFP, CCAP and other NGO food monitors The JRRCs are responsible for: Identifying the general food requirements within their communities, in addition to the most vulnerable persons. Receiving and storing relief food supplies. Providing adequate security for the stored food. Overseeing the distribution of the food, in conjunction with CCAP and other NGOs working in the areas. The CCAP Field officers will be responsible to CCAP and the committees. In addition to the JRRCs within each centre, another committee chaired by the Commissioner is responsible for the overall co-ordination of all relief and development activities within each district. In order to maximise the involvement of the stakeholders and ensure that the most vulnerable persons within each community are effectively targeted, CCAP food distributions will be as decentralised as possible. CCAP has identified a total of 10 separate locations (called “End Distribution Points” or “EDPs”) within each centre where distribution will take place. The efficient management of the distribution process and the maintenance of accurate commodity accounts will further be enhanced by the presence of Food Monitors in each centre. Furthermore, CCAP field staff will conduct frequent PDM assessments in order to ensure that the food actually reaches its intended beneficiaries and is utilized effectively. ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING Administration The Field Supervisor, five Field Officers, three nurses, one finance officer, two drivers etc will supervise the project. They will provide necessary administrative and other support through guidance and training from the Relief Specialist. The Relief Specialist will report to ACT and other donors. Logistics will be based at the field level and supported by the Relief Office based at the Projects office, Blantyre Synod in all purchases, hiring of transport etc. All programme staff will be full time, fluent in Chichewa, and have community experience. All staff of middle management and above are also fluent in English. All staff will be employees of the Projects Office, CCAP and subject to their personnel policies and remuneration. The Relief Specialist will be responsible for reporting to ACT Partners. Five area Field Officers will report to the Field Supervisor based in Chingale. The Field Officers will be responsible for co-ordinating the project work within their own catchment areas where they will reside. Finance The Financial reports will be prepared on a monthly basis from the projects office by the Finance Officer. The reports will be incorporated into established standard reporting systems agreed by ACT Geneva. A separate account has been opened dedicated to the Relief Programme. Monitoring & Reporting Monitoring and reporting systems will be an integral component of this program and will take place at five main levels: Field staff will conduct weekly baseline food security and nutritional status assessments in order to continuously reassess the need for and recalibrate the targeting of emergency food aid in Chingale division. Field staff will prepare and submit weekly narrative and statistical reports to the Field Supervisor for review and evaluation. The Field Supervisor will be responsible for the overall monitoring of the progress and will compile the information contained in the weekly reports into a single monthly progress report. The Field Supervisor will then forward it to the Relief Specialist in Blantyre for further analysis before submitting it to the donors. CO-ORDINATION In Blantyre and Lilongwe there are regular inter-agency co-ordination meetings, under the leadership of the UN office for Humanitarian Co-ordination and the National Commission for Disaster and Relief. At these meetings all agencies with their Government counterparts inform one another on activities being undertaken, areas of operation and other updates. At the sector levels, for example, in Chingale, there are the Agricultural Co-ordination Meetings, which regularly bring together all agencies in the agricultural sector, to co-ordinate activities, agree on areas of operations and harmonise strategies and to some extent try to distribute agreed upon categories and quality of inputs. This is the case in other sectors, education and training, local authority, among others. Church Action Relief and Development is the Relief and Development arm of the Malawi Council of Churches, and it co-ordinates all relief activities of Christian organisations affiliated to ACT. CCAP also co-ordinates with other NGOs primarily in conducting Joint Food Security and nutrition surveys, modifying food distribution plans based on the findings of the assessments, and establishing effective referral systems whereby families whose children are admitted to the Community Health Centres (mostly run by the Anglican Church in Chingale) are targeted during general food distributions. These health centres for children lack most of the medical supplies and drugs. In Chingale the only evidence of other NGOs is World Vision, involved in the care of Aids Orphans at Nkasala, one of the villages CCAP is targeting. CCAP will collaborate with WFP and UNICEF in nutritional assessments. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE Months Activities Description Remarks June Assessments & Surveys Before the new Appeals July Proposal Writing Presented for funding August Recruitment of Staff New staff September Under-five assessment Nurses October Purchase of farm inputs Staff November Training of farmers Staff December Planting of farm inputs Planting season January Food ration Food Monitors February Crop Monitoring Food Security staff March Psychosocial training Activities ongoing April Tentative report to ACT Report writing May Internal Evaluation Staff in Field June Auditing External Auditors July Situation Report External Reporting BUDGET INCOME US$ Income Received or Pledged Balances from AFMW22 140,000 Food Resource Bank (USA) 72,000 Presbyterian Disaster Assistance USA 130,000 Christian Aid Winter Seed 37,000 Total Income 379,000 ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE Description Type of No of Unit Cost Budget Unit Units US$ US$ DIRECT ASSISTANCE Recovery and Mitigation Phase Assistance Child Survival Programme Under-five and mothers Training of health promoters Workshops 22 200.00 4,400 Promotion of vaccination Workshops 12 200.00 2,400 Purchase of mosquito nets unit 5,000 4.00 20,000 Prenatal and post natal activities Lump sum 800 Purchase of UNIMIX or Likuni Phala tonne 320 300.00 96,000 Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding Workshops 22 200.00 4,400 Reproductive health education Workshops 6 100.00 600 School Feeding programme tonne 180 160.00 28,800 Utensils for school feeding programme Lump sum 4,500 HIV/AIDs Care tonne 20 160.00 3,200 Rehabilitation of Water Systems wells 28 300.00 8,400 Community Monitoring systems Workshops 3 200.00 600 Medical Supplies Lump sum 28,000 Sub-Total 202,100 Enhanced Food Security Programme Training of farmers in crop husbandry Training/workshop 30 200.00 6,000 Promotion of Maize Production kgs 17,000 2.00 34,000 Fertilizer kgs 74,000 0.50 37,000 Other Seeds kgs 10,000 1.00 10,000 cowpeas, sweat potatoes, soya beans,etc kgs 10,000 0.90 9,000 Vegetable seeds kgs 800 4.00 3,200 Training in compost manure use workshops 6 200.00 1,200 Sub-Total 100,400 Description Type of No of Unit Cost Budget Unit Units US$ US$ Livestock Restocking Project Goats goats 60 10.00 600 Sheep sheep 60 10.00 600 Local Chicken chicken 200 2.00 400 Veterinary Medicines Lump sum 1,500 Seed Multiplication Training 30 50.00 1,500 Establishment of farmers groups Training 12 250.00 3,000 Food - Community Grain Banks tonnes 100 180.00 18,000 Treadle Pumps units 30 130.00 3,900 Hoes and Matchets pieces 2,000 2.00 4,000 Sub-Total 33,500 Psychosocial Activities Early Childhood Development Lump sum 8,900 Functional Adult Literacy Lump sum 15,000 Recreational Activities Lump sum 4,500 HIV/AIDs Awareness Workshops 12 200.00 2,400 Care Giver Trainings Workshops 12 200.00 2,400 Child Protections and Human Right issues Workshops 3 1,000.00 3,000 Micro enterprise for 100 women Lump sum 15,000 Renovation of adult literacy centres units 4 300.00 1,200 Sub-Total 52,400 Preventive Food Ration to High Risks people Food for 5000 People (4 months) tonnes 1000 180.00 180,000 Fortified food for preg & lactating Mothers tonnes 250 200.00 50,000 Sub-Total 230,000 MATERIAL , TRANSPORT, WAREHOUSING & HANDLING Protective Clothing and Uniforms Lump sum 2,000 Material Transport (Food & Items Lump sum 12,000 Sub-Total 14,000 Capital equipment Motor-bikes units 2 4,000.00 8,000 VHF Radios units 2 4,500.00 9,000 Photocopier units 1 3,000.00 3,000 Bicycles ( Mountain) units 10 120.00 1,200 Sub-Total 21,200 PERSONNEL, ADMINISTRATION, OPERATIONS & OTHER SUPPORT COSTS Personnel and Support costs Field Supervisor month 9 400.00 3,600 Monitoring and Evaluation Officer month 9 350.00 3,150 Finance Officer month 9 400.00 3,600 Commodity Officer month 9 250.00 2,250 Administrative Assistants month 9 300.00 2,700 Typist month 9 150.00 1,350 Caretaker month 9 150.00 1,350 Messenger month 9 100.00 900 Drives 2 month 9 200.00 1,800 Guards 8 month 9 100.00 900 Sub-Total 21,600 Description Type of No of Unit Cost Budget Unit Units US$ US$ Child Survival Nurses 3 month 9 380.00 3,420 Nutritionist month 9 300.00 2,700 Health Assistant ( honorioum) 7 month 9 50.00 450 Sub-Total 6,570 Food Security Food Security Officer 2 month 9 300.00 2,700 Extension Assistants 3 month 9 200.00 1,800 Sub-Total 4,500 Psychosocial Psychosocial Supervisor month 9 380.00 3,420 Psychosocial Officer month 9 350.00 3,150 Instructors (honorarium) 24 month 9 60.00 540 Sub-Total 7,110 Staff Benefits Medical Insurance Lump sum 6,000 Travel Allowances Lump sum 6,500 Project Travels Lump sum 3,500 10% Staff gratuity Lump sum 2,210 Sub-Total 18,210 Office Operation Field Office rents months 9 200.00 1,800 Warehouse months 9 200.00 1,800 Stationery months 9 300.00 2,700 Computer maintainance months 9 100.00 900 Electricity and water conservants months 9 50.00 450 Office Renovation Lump sum 3,000 Telephones, faxes and emails months 9 450.00 4,050 Public and media Lump sum 4,500 Fuel monthly 9 800.00 7,200 Maintenance monthly 9 800.00 7,200 Insurance and road licenses Lump sum 8,500 Sub-Total 42,100 Capacity Building Staff Development Training person 5 700.00 3,500 Establishment & Training of committees Workshops 12 800.00 9,600 Leadership Training Workshops 3 800.00 2,400 Disaster Preparedness Trainings Lump sum 10,000 Sub-Total 25,500 Audit fees Lump sum 3,000 Total Estimated Expenditure 782,190 Less Income/Pledges 379,000 BALANCE REQUESTED FROM ACT NETWORK 403,190 REQUESTING ACT MEMBER Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), Synod of Livingstonia IMPLEMENTATING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION The Synod of Livingstonia embarked on its relief programme in 1980s as a response to the destruction caused by cyclones. In 1990, the Synod’s Development Committee was established as a separate initiative responsible for the clean water, food security (agriculture) and micro-enterprise programmes to communities within the Synod. In 1992, the Relief Program and Development Committee amalgamated to form the Development and Relief Department, known today as the Development Department. Since then, Malawi has experienced a spectrum of natural disasters each year, in the form of drought, floods cyclones, famine, etc keeping the Development Department fully involved in co-ordination and implementation of relief projects. As an arm of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia, the Development Department caters to the whole northern region. This region consists of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia catchment area, including five districts and part Malawi’s central region. DESCRIPTION of the EMERGENCY SITUATION A recent survey conducted by Livingstonia Synod Development Department in June 2003 in Karonga, Mzimba, Rumphi and Kasungu where the department distributed inputs to 21,700 families complemented by food aid showed that the majority (36.75%)of households in Mzimba out of 13,400 targeted families have food for 3-4 months, 38% out of 2,600 targeted households in Rumphi have food for 3-4 months, 42.5% out of 2,000 targeted families in Kasungu have food for 1-2 months and 71.5% out of 3,700 targeted families in Karonga have food for less than 1 month from the date of the survey in June 2003. Effect of Seed Project and Food Aid on the Current Food Situation The projects in conjunction with food aid carried out by the department, WFP and other NGOs had a significant effect on the crop productivity. Apart from benefits to health and strength, the time saved by farmers not having to look for food was used to cultivate and take good care of their fields such as weeding, banking, etc. Food aid has also minimized the premature consumption of green maize thereby at least improving the final yield and production. This has enabled most families to have their own food now leaving only a few without own food. For example the 2001-2002 production season indicated that 4,529 families out of 5,436 in Mpherembe had no food, 2233 farming families out of 4,313 for Malidade had no food while 2002-2003 season above shows that 1,465 farming families out of 6,977 for Mpherembe and 1,314 farming families out of 4,694 for Malidade have no own food as of now. Following these results, the department plans to continue with integration of programmes in order to help completely reduce the suffering of the household without own food The survey conducted by the department also revealed that levels of malnutrition reduced to 4.6% on average from 12% around the same time last season but this is likely to be worse as the months progress if another intervention is not made. The department plans to reduce these levels further or maintain these levels up to the same time 2004. The United Nations System, including FAO, OCHA, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, WFP and WHO, in collaboration with NGOs and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), are also appealing for US$530 million- US$320 million for food and US$210 million for other aid to address the humanitarian needs of 6.5 million vulnerable people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition to food aid, the 12 months appeal also seeks to fund water and sanitation, agriculture, education and health projects. It is out of these factors that the department would like to assist those families, which have not been able to recover from last year’s emergency with food, agriculture inputs and health component, despite reports that Malawi has plenty of food. GOALS & OBJECTIVES Goal: The main goal is to alleviate the suffering and sustain the lives of extremely vulnerable families in CCAP Synod of Livingstonia catchment area in the northern region of Malawi by means of integrated food security strategies. Objectives To procure and distribute food aid and inputs (i.e. Maize, cassava) in order to meet the critical needs and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable families in Karonga, Rumphi, Mzimba, Nkhota-kota and Nkhata-bay from October 2003 to June 2004 (9 months). To procure and distribute other non-food supplies like vitamins supplements, malaria drugs bed nets and water guards in order to reduce negative effects of water to the programme. To prevent the increase of malnutrition among vulnerable people in hunger stricken areas of Malawi by provision of food. To prevent the food crisis repeating itself in the 2003 to 2004 season by assisting people in developing their capacities to recover from the shock of the crisis and also provide them with the means to produce adequate and diversified food supplies for themselves. To alleviate the suffering and preserve the lives of extremely vulnerable farming families in CCAP Synod of Livingstonia catchment area in the northern region of Malawi by means of an integrated relief programme. To prevent 7,000 families from eating and selling their input packages provided to them either by Livingstonia Synod or the government TIP. To create awareness amongst the food insecure people on the causes of the food crisis and enhance their capacity to develop appropriate solutions to its cause while providing them with some means of production. To prevent 7,000 families from applying distressed coping mechanisms such as pawning, labour sales, promiscuity, reduced meal frequency and migration to towns and schemes through the provision of 3,150mt of maize food, 283.50mt Likuni phala, 252mt beans, malaria drugs, 7,000 bed nets and 1,400 packets of water guard; 21,000 families will be provided with 42mt maize seed, 42mt bean seed, 210mt fertilizer, 105mt cassava cuttings and 6,000 families with 60mt rice seed. PROPOSED EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION Food Supplies: 3150mt of maize food to 7,000 beneficiaries over 9 months (October 03 to June 04). 252mt of beans to 7,000 families over 9 months (October 03 – June 04). 283.50mt of Likuni phala to 7,000 families over 9 months (October 03 – June 04) Agricultural Inputs: 42mt of masika maize seed distributed to 21,000 families distribution by October, 2002 42mt of bean seed to 21,000 families 210mt of fertiliser to 21,000 families distribution by October, 2003 105mt of cassava cuttings to 21,000 families to be distributed in October, 2003 60mt of rice seed to 6,000 families by October, 2003 Non Food Determinants 1,400 boxes of water guard to 7,000 beneficiaries for six months (October 2003 – June 2004). 7,000 bed nets to prevent malaria Malaria drugs 15 training and Health Education campaigns Performance Indicators CCAP Synod of Livingstonia will supply and distribute a total of 3,685.5mt of food aid (3,150mt of maize food, 252mt of beans and 283.50mt of Likuni phala) to the targeted population by 30 June 2004. Monthly distribution rates will be according to the sphere standards. CCAP Relief Field Supervisors will make every effort to conduct continuous post distribution monitoring assessments. The under-five and crude mortality rates within the population will be further reduced by end 2004. These levels will be maintained until the 2003/2004 harvest. The malnutrition rates for 85% of the targeted population will be reduced by December 2003 and will be maintained until 2004 harvest. Health personnel, department staff and other local NGO staff will conduct ongoing nutrition surveys in order to monitor the overall nutritional status of the target population. CCAP Synod of Livingstonia will supply and distribute a total of 459mt of agricultural production inputs (42mt maize seed, 42mt beans, 210mt fertiliser, 105mt cassava and 60mt rice) to the targeted population by October 2003 to boost production in 2004. CCAP Synod of Livingstonia Field Supervisors will make every effort to conduct four visits of monitoring for the production inputs, and at the end, the supervisors will conduct yield estimates based on 5 x 5m square plot. CCAP will supply and distribute a total of 42,000 boxes of water guard, 7,000 bed nets, malaria drugs and 15 training and Health education campaigns to the targeted families by 30 March 2004. The morbidity rates for 85% of the targeted population will be reduced by December 2003 from 23.57% to 10% as people will have protected water and this will be maintained until 2004 harvest. CCAP Synod of Livingstonia Integrated Programme will not only meet people’s critical food needs, but also enable the local population to focus its attention on farming and other more productive activities. For example, by combining food aid with agricultural rehabilitation, CCAP Synod of Livingstonia will enable the local population to begin preparing the land in October 2003, for planting in November/December 2003. As such the department is striving to ensure that beneficiaries will not be dependent on relief aid. This transition is critical if beneficiaries are to achieve genuine long-term development and self-reliance. The Development Department is trying all it can to improve household food security. In its effort, it has been disseminating the following message to the masses: Take seriously the messages disseminated by the government and others concerning compost making – fertilisers are expensive and unsustainable. Though this year’s harvest is small, keep this year’s yield safe and reduce the quantities cooked – do not waste food. Winter cultivation – take advantage of residual moisture in dambos to grow winter crops, maize and vegetables in order to supplement this years meagre yields. In this light, the department has distributed 80mt of masika maize seed for winter cropping. The department has also distributed 200 treadle pumps to farmers to support winter cultivation. In order to ensure the availability of adequate food supplies and dietary diversification, grow more than one crop including those that do not require fertiliser, and those that are drought tolerant. Distribution Plan/Commodity Accounting The CCAP Livingstonia’s methodology for food distribution is based on a participatory approach. This will facilitate effective targeting of the most vulnerable members of each community and will minimise the diversion and informal redistribution of items. The method involves the setting up of local relief joint committees within each centre. The relief committees comprise of a maximum of 20 representatives from the following groups: Local church leaders from various denominations Local authority officials Traditional leaders Women representatives Beneficiaries representatives Government field staff and those from other NGOs working in the area are EX Official members. Role of the Committee Identifying both the general food requirements and the most vulnerable persons within their communities. Receiving and storing relief food supplies Providing adequate security for the stored food Overseeing the distribution of the items in conjunction with the Synod’s congregational church structure and other NGOs working in the areas Monitoring of the programmes together with the field supervisors (the CCAP Relief Field Supervisors is responsible to the department and the committee). In order to maximise the involvement of stakeholders and ensure that the most vulnerable persons within each community are effectively targeted, the department distributions will be based on Extension Planning Areas identified. Out of all the EPAs in the catchment area, CCAP Synod of Livingstonia has identified the following EPAs District/RDP EPA Total number of farming families Number of farming families without own food Rumphi Chiweta 7,151 1,287 Karonga Kaporo (S) 17,548 2,777 Vinthukutu 22,449 5,299 Mpata 9,515 571 Chitipa Lufita 10,995 549 Nkhata-bay Usisya 8,472 3,483 Nkhota-kota Dwangwa Mzimba (N) Euthini 13,443 6,922 Mbalachanda 4,648 2,225 Njuyu 5,082 2,338 Kasungu Kasasanya CO-ORDINATION CCAP Synod of Livingstonia is a member of the Council of Non-Governmental Organization in Malawi (CONGOMA). By virtue of this work and its association with ACT, it is also a member of the ACT Malawi partners, which is being co-ordinated by DCA Malawi. Geographically, Livingstonia Synod is the only ACT member situated in the north about 900km away from Blantyre where the other three members i.e. Blantyre Synod, CARD, ELDP are based. However, the Synod of Livingstonia works closely with CARD, Blantyre Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme in the implementation of its various programmes. It networks with both international and national NGOs (e.g. European Union, Christian Aid, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Presbyterian World Service and Development, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Presbyterian Church in USA and ICCO). It is also a member of Malawi’s National Disaster Committee. Co-ordination meetings are conducted with the help of District Commissioners and Food and Emergency Monitor for UNDP. These meetings are held every month in the District Assembly offices and are attended by all stakeholders involved in humatarian assistance. There is also good co-ordination with local and international organisations (EU, GTZ), local NGOs and the Malawi Government through monthly meetings at the Ministry’s headquarters. The Synod of Livingstonia’s Development Department also co-ordinates with other NGOs in the community in conducting sensitization and awareness activities. These include: Joint meetings on sensitisation, targeting and capacity building Awareness on production, shortage and utilisation of food crops Planning, monitoring and evaluating of programmes and problem identification. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE ACTIVITY Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July - Sept Approval of proposal x Personnel and equipment in place x Purchase of foodstuffs x x Baseline survey x Preparatory meetings x Formation of committees x Training the committees x Delivery of food items x x x x x x x x x Monthly food distribution x x x x x x x x x Purchase of inputs x Input distribution x Supplementary feeding x x x x x x x x x Purchase and distribution of water treatment x x x x x x x x x Purchase and distribution of bed nets and malaria drugs x Monitoring x x x x x x x x x x Mid-term review x Final evaluation x Report writing x Auditing accounts x Submission of reports x ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING Administration The Development Director, Deputy Director, Relief Programme Manager, Agriculture Programme Manager, Planning and Evaluation Officer, the Accountant, Deputy Programme Managers and Relief Field Supervisors will supervise the project. The Director will provide his team with the necessary administrative support via guidance and extra training. The Director will report to donor partners. Logistics (purchasing, hiring of transport, etc) will be handled at Ekwendeni – Development Department by the Director, Deputy Director and the Accountant. All programme staff will be considered temporal, fluent in Tumbuka language and have community experience. All middle management staff and above are fluent in English. All staff will be employees of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia and subject to its personnel policies and remuneration. The Development Director is responsible for reporting to donor partners. The Programme Managers, Accountant and Planning and Evaluation Officer will report to the Deputy Director. The Relief Field Supervisors will be responsible for co-ordinating the project work within their own catchment areas, where they will reside and will report to the Relief Programme Manager. The Planning and Evaluation Officer will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the programme and will report to the Deputy Director. Finance The financial reports will be prepared on a monthly basis by the department’s Accountant at the Ekwendeni office. The reports will be incorporated into established standard reporting systems agreed upon by the donor partners and the department. The department has a separate account for emergency and Relief Programmes. Monitoring and Reporting Monitoring and reporting will be integral components of this programme and will take place at 8 main levels i.e. with beneficiaries, local leaders, Food Monitor, Health Personnel, Agricultural Personnel, Relief Field Supervisors, Taskforce committee and the Development Department CCAP Planning and Evaluation Officer and Relief Field Supervisors, in conjunction with health personnel in the areas will conduct a nutritional baseline survey to establish a benchmark for monitoring and evaluation. Relief Field Supervisors will prepare and submit fortnight narrative and statistical reports and submit them to the Director for review and evaluation The Planning and Evaluation Officer will prepare consolidated monthly reports and submit them to the Director and Deputy Director The Director, Deputy Director, Programme Managers, Planning and Evaluation Officer will be responsible for the overall monitoring of the progress and the Planning and Evaluation Officer will compile the information contained in the consolidated monthly reports into a single report. The Director will then forward it to donors and Malawi Government. A monthly participatory monitoring system will enable the department to collect relevant information on the beneficiaries and determine: Whether the right beneficiaries have been identified If beneficiaries have access to land for cultivation If distributed seeds have been planted If compost heaps have been in readiness for the programme The yields realised as well as changes in the food security status of families If planned activities are being followed. This information will be analysed and interpreted. The findings will help CCAP steer the project in line with its goals and objectives. A mid-term and final evaluation will be conducted with reference to the baseline survey and determine: If planned activities were implemented and objectives achieved The effect of the programme on the department The impact of the programme on the beneficiaries and their communities The lessons learnt in the course of project implementation and draw some recommendations for the future BUDGET ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE Description Type of No of Unit Cost Budget Unit Units US$ US$ DIRECT ASSISTANCE Food Maize for food tonnes 2100 142.00 298,200 Beans tonnes 168 684.00 114,912 Likuni Phala tonnes 283.5 578.00 163,863 Transportation of maize 250km km/tonne 2100 0.20 105,000 Transportaion of Beans 250km km/tonne 168 0.20 8,400 Transportation of Likuni Phala 250km km/tonne 283.5 0.20 14,175 Storage months 9 500.00 4,500 Sub Total 709,050 Agricultural Inputs Maize seed tonnes 42 684 28,728 Bean seed tonnes 42 895 37,590 Fertilizer tonnes 210 337 70,770 Cassava cuttings tonnes 105 80 8,400 Rice seed tonnes 60 526 31,560 Transport of maize seed 250km km/tonne 42 0.2 2,100 Transport of beans 250km km/tonne 42 0.2 2,100 Transport of rice seed 200km km/tonne 60 0.2 2,400 Transportation of cassava cutting 600km km/tonne 105 0.2 12,600 Fertiliser 800km km/tonne 210 0.2 33,600 Sub Total 229,848 Non Food Items Packets of water guard packets 1400 0.32 448 Bed nets units 7000 6 42,000 15 Trainings & health edu campaign Lump sum 9,000 Sub Total 51,448 PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION Programme Director 50% salary months 9 680 6,120 Deputy Director months 9 590 5,310 Relief Programme Manager months 9 680 6,120 Deputy Relief manager months 9 400 3,600 Planning and Evaluation officer months 9 500 4,500 Field Supervisors 5 months 9 1250 11,250 Field Monitors months 9 852 7,668 Description Type of No of Unit Cost Budget Unit Units US$ US$ Accounts Clerk Logistics months 9 350 3,150 Accountant 50% Salary months 9 420 3,780 Secretaries 2 months 9 320 2,880 Watchmen 10 months 9 120 1,080 Field allowance months 9 1500 13,500 Loca travel cost months 9 1500 13,500 Staff Benefits Lump sum 5,000 Office stationeries Lump sum 1 7800 7,800 Recruitment and tender costs Lump sum 1 4800 4,800 Fax and telephone charges months 9 1200 10,800 Sub Total 110,858 CAPACITY BUILDING Disaster preparedness Lump sum 5,500 Agricultural extension services Lump sum 3,000 Sub Total 8,500 Other Admin Costs Coordination Meetings Lump sum 4,000 Registration of beneficiaries Lump sum 5000 Sub -Total 9,000 Monitoring and evaluation Lump sum 6000 Audit fees Lump sum 3500 TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 1,128,204 Budget Notes: Rationale for Budgetary request Funding is sought as a contribution to project management, staffing and provision of local contribution capacity and audit costs. The direct cost of provision of food aid to Malawi is now fair as prices on local markets have reduced. Effective project management and monitoring will reduce costs and increase the impact of the assistance. Vehicles are needed and ACT funds are necessary to defray the internal logistical costs of this emergency programme. Other sources of support have been sought, but are limited. Responsible movements of large quantities of commodities require costs for proper management, oversight, and monitoring of their use during distribution to targeted vulnerable groups. CCAP distribution methods involve a community-based approach. Accuracy in targeting beneficiaries is thus enhanced through involvement of beneficiaries and transparency in the distribution process. CCAP plans to have sufficient staff on the ground to be able to sustain the sound relationships with community leaders, civil authorities and church structures that are already established. 7.1.1 Relief Inputs Food aid 3150mt of white maize will be procured locally. 252mt beans sourced from local markets. 283.50mt of supplementary e.g Likuni Phala food - will be purchased from the local millers. Agricultural inputs 42mt maize seed 42mt bean seed 210mt fertiliser 105mt cassava cuttings 60mt rice seed Non food determinants 1400 packets of water guard 7000 bed nets 15 trainings and health education campaigns malaria drugs 7.1.2 The salaries of the following personnel included in the budget Programme Coordinator. Relief Programme Manager Assistant Relief Manager Relief Planning and Evaluation Officer Relief Field Supervisors (to be recruited) Accounts Clerk- Logistics Accountant Two Secretaries Watchmen 7.1.2.1 Staff Benefits Medical Insurance House allowance for staff 7.1.3 Travel Local Travels Costs- Fuel for vehicles and vehicle maintenance 7.1.4 Other Office Support Office stationery Recruitment and tender costs Equipment Maintenance Fax and telephone charges 7.1.5 Audit fees: Fees to cover independent audit – 2500US$ 7.1.6 Capacity Building Disaster preparedness Agricultural extension services 7.1.7 Transportation Costs: Trucking at the rate of US$0.2 per Km per ton (depending on where food will be purchased). 7.1.8 Warehousing/Storage: Costs of pallets, fumigation and storage: 500US$ per month if CCAP hires ADMARC stores. 7.1.9 Administrative costs: These include devaluation of currencies, bank charges, costs associated with consultancies, international travels, etc. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) REQUESTING ACT MEMBER & IMPLEMENTING AGENCY INFORMATION NCA has a Country Office in Malawi, which reports to the Regional Representation in Southern Africa. NCA programme in Malawi focuses on: community safety, health, HIV/AIDS, water & sanitation and emergency & relief. Description Implementing Partner Christian Health Association Of Malawi (CHAM) is an ecumenical, non profit non- governmental umbrella organisation of the Christian church owned health facilities in Malawi. It was constituted in 1965 to co-ordinate and advise churches in the provision of health care in Malawi. Two mother bodies, the Protestants under the Malawi Council of churches and the Catholics under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi own CHAM. The main objectives of CHAM are to facilitate, provide technical support, co-ordinate and develop health services among all members in order to obtain quality health care and patient care and in all matters act for the benefit of the people of Malawi. The Christian Health Association Of Malawi (CHAM) is one of the main local partners focusing on health, HIV/AIDS, water & sanitation. CHAM forms part of a large team of players in emergency food operations in Malawi focusing on nutrition. All NGOs involved in therapeutic and supplementary feeding formed a consortium on Targeted Nutrition Program. In that Consortium CHAM is a member together with other actors like WFP, UNICEF, World Vision, Plan International, Save the Children, AFRICARE and the Ministry of Health. CHAM is the second largest provider of health services in Malawi. It provides about 37% of the health services in the country. 90% of its units are in the remote rural providing the services to the rural population where the majority of the Malawians reside. CHAM has 159 health units, which are distributed, in all the three regions of Malawi and services more than 70% of the rural population in Malawi. The recommendations of the Code of Conduct to Prevent Abuse of Women and Children in Emergency Situations, will be used in the planning and implementation of this project. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION Health status Health indicators of Malawi are among the poorest according to WHO standards. It has an infant mortality rate of 104/ 1000 live births, under 5 mortality rate of 189/1000 live births and maternal mortality of 1,120 per 100,000 live births. There is a 19% decline in the infant and under five mortality rate over the period of 10 years. But the maternal mortality has doubled the last 7 years. HIV prevalence rate is 15% among the ages 15-49 years population. Protein energy malnutrition is a major problem of the under five children in Malawi. 49% of the under five children have stunted growth an indication of chronic malnutrition. and the situation is exacerbated by the impact of HIV/AIDS. Inadequate food security at household level and poverty are the main causes of malnutrition in Malawi. 50% of the poorest population in consumes about 1,800cal/capital/day far less than the WHO recommended standard of 2,1000cal/cap/day (Malawi Government 2001). Despite the extensive coverage of immunisation programmes the major causes of under-fives deaths remain: malaria, malnutrition, anaemia, ARI, and diarrhoea. Most paediatric deaths are associated with the mild to moderate malnutrition. Infection prevention and treatment is a core component of the management of a child with malnutrition. MAJOR CAUSES OF UNDER- FIVE DEATHS IMMUNISATION COVERAGE Table 1 Table 2 DISEASE % VACCINE 2000 Malaria 19 BCG 92 % Malnutrition 17 DPT 84% Others 16 POLIO 80% Anemia 13 MEASLES 83% Pneumonia 13 TTV 78% ARI 11 Diarrhoea 8 Perinatal 4 Source: United Nations 1993 Source: MDHs 2000 Locations for Proposed Response The proposed areas for response are CHAM Units in the following districts: - Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba, Nkhatabay, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Chiradzulu, Dedza, Kasungu, Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Phalombe, and Mzimba. GOAL & OBJECTIVES Objectives To have functioning nutrition programmes in CHAM Units in the fourteen (14) high crisis districts by end of 12 months. To increase percentage of malnourished children under five showing positive signs and physical growth by 80 % from baseline in the targeted areas. To reduce incidences of low birth weight babies (less than 2.5kg) by 20% in the targeted areas within the project period. To reduce incidence of malnutrition of 80% weight for age among the U/5 children by 30% from baseline in the targeted areas in a period of 12 months. To improve the nutritional status of lactating and pregnant mothers by 20% from baseline in the targeted areas within the project period. To improve the dietary intake of 20 AIDS patients per targeted district to at least one main meal per day within the project period. Strategies Conduct comprehensive situational analysis in the targeted areas. Strengthen and build institutional capacity of the CHAM secretariat and units to carry out the nutrition programme. Facilitate the provision of therapeutic nutrition programme in the CHAM units. Monitor and evaluate implementation of the programme. Support the development of transition programmes moving treatment of malnutrition from facilities to the community. Establish Countrywide Nutrition surveillance and early warning system at a national and district level, including information from sentinel sites, nutrition surveys and NRU’s. Identify and support early identification and prevention of malnutrition, referral and follow up systems between communities and NRUs through, for example the, Health Surveillance Assistants and growth monitoring volunteers. Strengthen the nutrition component of Community IMCI especially in reference to early identification of malnutrition, referral and follow up. BENEFICIARY INFORMATION & TARGETED AREAS The project will cover Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba, Nkhatabay, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Chiradzulu, Dedza, Kasungu, Mzimba, Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Karonga, and Phalombe Districts targeting the vulnerable groups which are children, pregnant /lactating mothers in the NRUs and AIDS patients. It is anticipated that 31,051 children will benefit from the much needed therapeutic feeding. The selection of these districts is derived from the Report from the Projects Office Relief Programme – CCAP Blantyre Synod and Synod of Livingstonia Development Department, randomly selected units that were visited during the Act Appeal assessment Survey and from the Report from Southern Africa Regional Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal June 2003 – July 2004. DISTRICT POPULA -TION TARGETED BENEFICIARIES CHAM UNITS U/5 Preg/ Lact AIDS Lilongwe 610,413 7,886 1220 464 *Likuni, *Lutheran, *Mlale, *Nkhoma, Dzenza, Malingunde, Mtengo wa Nthenga, ABC, Mlodza, Chimwala, *St. Gabriel, Chiwe, Chezi. Blantyre 335,373 4,333 670 255 Soche, *Mlambe, Lumbila, Chileka, Malabvi, St. Vincent. Zomba 271,318 3,500 542 300 Chipini, Mayaka, Mposa, Namikango, Pirimiti, St. Lukes, H. Parker, Magomero, Matiya, Nkasala Nkhatabay 190,427 2,460 380 144 Chikwina, Chilambwe, Chikwawa 398,136 5,135 380 152 *Montfort, Misomali, Ngabu Nsanje 206,201 2,260 412 164 *Kalemba, *Trinity, Lulwe, Chididi. Chiradzulu 262,496 3,386 524 209 *St. Joseph, PIM. Dedza 550,372 7,099 1,100 440 *Chiphwanya, *Bembeke, *Kasina, *Mikondo, *Mua, St. Annes, St. Joseph, Kaundu, Nakalanzi, Kanyama, Mphunzi, Matumba. Kasungu 582,604 7,515 1,165 466 Mziza, *Nkhamenya, St. Andrews, Mpasadzi Rumphi 151,236 1,950 302 120 *DGM, St. Patricks, Tchalo, Mlowe, Zunga, Luwuchi, Nthenje, Nkhota- kota 275,982 3,560 552 220 *St. Annes, Chididi, Liwaladzi, *Alinafe, Kapiri. Mzimba 727,937 9,390 1,456 582 *Ekwendeni, *Embangweni, Enukweni, *Katete, *Mzambazi, *St. John’s, Lunjika, Luwazi, Endindeni, Nkhorongo, St. John of God, Kalikumbi, Mabiri Karonga 227,433 2,934 455 182 St. Annes, Sangilo. Phalombe 254,487 3,282 508 204 *Holy Family, Mwanga, Sukasanje, Chiringa. 64,690 9,666 3,902 *NRU present Criteria utilised in Beneficiary Selection. The project will adopt the phased approach beginning with the highest priority crisis and finishing with the lowest. This will ensure that the food supplementation will only cover the deficit and be provided when they are really in need and be used for the intended purpose. The therapeutic nutritional programme will cover 14 districts categorised as high crisis priority as different districts are experiencing variable periods of food shortage (FAO/WFP). Anthropometrics databased on the Harvard standard will be used to assess the nutritional status of the children under age of five. These are: Height for age Weight for age Weight for height The malnourished children will be identified through the monthly under five clinics where their growth and development are being monitored. A value of 80% of the Harvard Standard is considered as malnourished and 60% is severe malnutrition. All children diagnosed as severely malnourished will be admitted to the nutrition rehabilitation units (NRU) for intensive care. Those with 80% malnutrition will be given supplementary feed to take home and be closely monitored every fortnight. Pregnant women requiring supplementary feeding will be identified through the antenatal clinics based on weight gain and multiple gestation. The AIDS patients will be identified through the home-based care programme. Only those in need will be given supplementary feed. Number and Classification of Targeted Beneficiaries. Supplementary feed 34,269 AIDS patients 3,902 Pregnant/Lactating women 9,666 U/5 Malnourished 20,701 Therapeutic feeding 31,051 (Admitted to NRU) DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSSED ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION To implement the planned project, it would require several resources Cooking equipment Raw materials Additional human resource Financial support Technical support to assist with project evaluation Situation analysis study to establish the baseline data in the targeted areas A comprehensive situational analysis on the extent of the disaster and effect on vulnerable groups was conducted in order to have direction on the required response. A simple questionnaire was developed. Random sampling of at least 8 CHAM Units in the expected high crisis areas was assessed. The following hospitals/health centres were visited: Mont fort Hospital in Chikwawa, Kalemba in Nsanje, St Joseph in Chiradzulu, Chiphwaya in Dedza, Nkhoma in Lilongwe, Nkhamenya in Kasungu, DGM in Rumphi and St. Annes in Nkhota-kota. Results from the Baseline Survey These are results from some centers at the peak of this year’s emergency DISTRICT HOSP/HEALTH CENTRE Girls Boys Total No. of Malnourished U/5 children admitted at the NRU CHIKWAWA Montfort 51 49 100 NSANJE Kalemba 35 49 84 CHIRADZULU St. Joseph 24 16 40 DEDZA Chiphwanya 11 9 20 LILONGWE Nkhoma 130 102 232 KASUNGU Nkhamenya 49 32 81 RUMPHI DGM 90 60 150 NKHOTAKOTA St. Annes 90 96 186 Although the general picture is that food availability is higher this year compared to last year’s the findings in the randomly selected 8 districts were not so encouraging in terms of good harvest. There were reports of food shortage and lack of access to food in certain areas hence it was necessary to make a rapid assessment in the above selected districts. A total of 14 Districts have been proposed in this year’s Act Appeal Hunger Project in 87 CHAM Units including districts that were mentioned in the Southern Africa Regional Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal June 2003 – July 2004 Report. The reasons for lack of adequate harvest in the above mentioned districts ranged from flooding in some areas to late distribution or lack of farm inputs in others, For those that harvested minimally all their produce will have been sold before the peak period because of poverty. In most areas hunger has already started to the extent that in Chikwawa for example some people have already started showing signs of distended stomachs and others have started eating seasonal fruits and nymphea lotus tubers from the swamp areas. It is expected that the hunger situation in some parts of the country this year will be similar if not worse than last year’s because of the flooding, especially in the lower Shire areas. This will automatically affect the NRU situation in the above visited districts. Strengthening and building institutional capacity of the CHAM Secretariat and Units to carryout the nutritional programme A one-day orientation of proprietors and administrators will be carried out to establish ownership and to clarify roles of each stakeholder. A training of trainers on triage assessment of sick children will be conducted. This will be a 4-day course and participants will be senior medical and nursing personnel of each CHAM Unit. The trainers will train the health workers in their own unit. Storekeepers will be trained on how to manage food and other supplies of the project. Volunteers, Health Surveillance Assistants and Home craft workers in the units and catchment areas will be involved in the project. One warehouse will be leased in Lilongwe as distribution point for food and supplies. A warehouse supervisor will be employed. Transport to the CHAM Units of food and supplies will be done using CHAM trucks but where necessary subcontracting to local transporters will be done. Mothers whose children are admitted to the Nutrition and Rehabilitation Unit (NRU) will be trained to care and provide proper nutrition for their children. Refreshment courses on management of malnourished children will be conducted. Participants will be medical and nursing personnel of the CHAM Units and PHC/HIV/AIDS Co-ordinators. Provision of therapeutic nutritional programme in the CHAM Units. Logistics. Orientation of the beneficiaries. Supply of food items and associated equipment. Project vehicle necessary for the transportation of the food to the units and for project supervision. Each CHAM Unit will prepare a plan on how to manage the nutrition rehabilitation unit and other related services. Estimates of food and supplies required will be submitted to CHAM Secretariat for processing and delivery to the Unit. PHC personnel will sensitise the communities on the NRU programme and the supplementary feeding programme so that the service could be accessed by the community members. Community based care givers ie TBA’s, herbalist and HBC providers will be encouraged to refer malnourished children and mothers and HIV/AIDS patients. All malnourished children will be assessed at the Out Patient Department and referred to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit for rehabilitation and treatment. A demonstration garden consisting of locally grown vegetables and fruits will be maintained and mothers and family members will be trained on farming methods using manure. Mothers will also be trained on how to prepare and give proper food to children. These demonstration gardens exclude St. Lukes, Likuni, Nkhamenya, Embangweni, Mulanje and Mlowe that are already benefiting from Danchurchaid / FAO, CHAM gardening programme. Physical growth of children in the Nutrition Rehabilitation Units will be monitored using the three standard indices of physical growth to determine nutritional status of children: height-for-age, weight-for-weight, weight-for-age. Children will also be de-wormed. Health education in all clinics will continue and topics will focus on proper nutrition and signs of poor nutrition. Micro-nutrients will also be provided. Severely malnourished children and under-fives will be provided with food while admitted to the NRU as necessary. Aside from monitoring physical growth, haemoglobin will be monitored and if required, children will be referred to hospital for blood transfusion. Malnourished ante-natal mothers will be provided with micro-nutrients and iron tablets. Food will be distributed to ante-natal mothers at least once a month. ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, MONITORING & REPORTING Administration The CHAM Secretariat will be the overall co-ordinator of the project from the Lilongwe office. The Nursing and Training Officer will be the project Co-ordinator and will be assisted by the Advocacy and Health information Officer. The 87 CHAM units to participate in this programme belong to Dioceses and synods which have Health Co-ordinators. These health co-ordinators will assist in co-ordinating the project at the synod and diocese level. In the CHAM hospitals there are PHC Co-ordinators who will help to supervise the project at the district level for their hospital nutrition project and the health centres nearest to them. Implementation This project will strengthen the NRUs in the CHAM units by increasing the resources needed to combat the high incidence of malnutrition resulting from the famine. Since most CHAM health centres do not have an established NRU programme, this project will assist in developing NRUs in Health centres found in hardest hit areas. At the unit level, the Primary Health Care section will be responsible for implementing this programme. The Community nurses and the home craft workers will be staff attached to the project but will also work together with the other health care staff. At the Community level, volunteers, Health Surveillance Assistants and Hom craft workers will be used to reach out to home based care patients. International Procurement Some of the equipment and food items may need to be procured internationally and CHAM will have to be assisted with the necessary logistics. Local Procurement Most of the food items, drugs and equipment can be procured locally from local producers, Grain & Milling, Rab Processors, Christian Service Committee, NASFAM, ADMARC, CHAM Likuni Phala production units and Central Medical Stores. Those which cannot be found locally will be procured from outside Malawi. Local Transport and Distribution Food distribution will be contracted out to local distributors as well as vehicles donated by Norwegian Church Aid. The items will be distributed direct to CHAM Units. Each unit will be provided with a monthly allocation of funds for off-loading and security which will be proportionate to the size of the unit. As much as possible, the available vehicles will be used at the Secretariat and at the units. However, the project will have to assist in servicing and rehabilitating these vehicles for smooth running of the project. Accountability and Financial Reports A separate account will be opened for proper accountability. The project accounts will be audited yearly and the report will be submitted to the donor through the NCA Malawi office. Monitoring Procedures To establish baseline data, a comprehensive study will be carried out in the targeted areas at the onset of the project. A detailed 12 months work plan and budget will be compiled during a planning and budgeting meeting involving all the PHC Co-ordinators. From this 12 months plan, Units will draw quarterly work plans which will be reviewed quarterly during planning and review meetings. Supervision of the project will be done at all levels. While the Health Co-ordinators will be supervising on a monthly basis, the National Co-ordinators will be providing technical support on a quarterly basis. At the unit level efforts will be made to involve the Village Health Committees in the growth and monitoring of the targeted children, selection of volunteers and supervise the utilisation of the distributed supplementary food items. CHAM secretariat will develop tools for monitoring the implementation of the project. The units will submit quarterly reports to the secretariat, which will be used for monitoring and its data will contribute to the project evaluation. The secretariat will submit biannual and yearly reports to ACT through NCA. Two Progress Review and Planning meetings will be conducted where the major stakeholders will be involved. Regular monitoring of regional warehouse and stores in the CHAM Units will be done monthly. Monthly returns on Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit (RHU) activities and food supplies consumption will be collated. Quarterly support supervision will be conducted on technical and financial management of the project. Mid-way through the project a mid-term evaluation will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the project and give information to start preparing for the next phase of the project which will also focus on empowering the communities in food security and disaster preparedness. At the end of the project a final evaluation will be carried out. Management and Reporting CHAM units used reporting formats recommended by the Ministry of Health. However, the new system was being changed concurrently with the introduction of the ACT Appeal Project. Consequently, the units had experienced some difficulties in implementing the changes within a short period. Hence, the project started off by using the old guidelines while waiting for training. CHAM Units provides monthly reports to the CHAM secretariat. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE The program is planned for 12 months which means it will run until August, 2004. CO-ORDINATION Co-ordination with other organisations in the affected areas is necessary. Co-operation between Government, NGOs and the UN agencies in humanitarian assistance should be encouraged as accurate and timely information made available to all assists in effectively responding to and mitigating the impact of the crisis. Co-ordination and consultations will also help in reducing duplication of efforts, wastage of resources and overlapping in the units. BUDGET DESCRIPTION Type of No. of Unit Cost Budget Budget Unit Units MK MK US$ Equipment Plates Pieces 625 300 187,500 1,769 Buckets Pieces 625 120 75,000 708 Cups Pieces 625 100 62,500 590 Spoons Pieces 625 50 31,250 295 Cooking sticks Pieces 625 120 75,000 708 Maesurejugs1ltr Pieces 625 400 250,000 2,358 Baby weigh scales Pieces 25 3,500 87,500 825 Height boards Pieces 25 5,600 140,000 1,321 Sub - Total 908,750 8,573 Food Items Likuni phala 50kg bags 16,112 900 14,500,800 136,800 Maize flour 50kg bags 11,765 850 10,000,250 94,342 Cooking oil 5lt container 5,589 1,000 5,589,000 52,726 Beans 50kg bags 2,500 70 175,000 1,651 Milk powder Lump sum 2,000,000 18,868 Skimmed milk Lump sum 2,000,000 18,868 Iodised Salt kgs 120 35 4,200 40 Sugar 20kg bags 60 800 48,000 453 Transportation 20mk tonne/km tonne/km 1,423,000 20 28,460,000 268,491 Insurance(food stuffs) Lump sum 400,000 3,774 Sub Total 63,177,250 596,012 Micronutrients/Food Supplements Vitamin A unit 870 2,231 1,940,970 18,311 Multivitamin syrup unit 870 172 149,640 1,412 Iron/ferous/folic unit 870 219 190,530 1,797 Home gardens(fruits and vegetables) unit 18 360,934 6,496,812 61,291 Sub-Total 8,777,952 82,811 DRUGS Albendazole200mg unit 870 987 858,690 8,101 ORS sachets unit 870 7 6,090 57 Contrimoxaz480mg unit 870 695 604,650 5,704 Amoxycilin250mg unit 870 1,272 1,106,640 10,440 Metronidazole200mg unit 870 95 82,650 780 Sub -Total 2,658,720 25,082 PERSONNEL COSTS Recruitment expenses Lump sum 150,000 1,415 Distrib co-ordinat salary + benefits month 12 71,000 852,000 8,038 Store keeper salary + benefits month 12 51,000 612,000 5,774 Driver salary + benefits month 12 37,500 450,000 4,245 Sub - Total 2,064,000 19,472 TRAINING Proprietors orientation Lump sum 800,000 7,547 Nutrition training of trainers workshop 14 40,000 560,000 5,283 DESCRIPTION Type of No. of Unit Cost Budget Budget Unit Units MK MK US$ Nutrition refresher course HCW's workshop 7 3,300 23,100 218 TOT triage assessment of malnourished children Assessment 4 100,000 400,000 3,774 Sub -Total 1,783,100 16,822 TRANSPORT Vehicle Service Lump sum 133,500 1,259 Fuel Liters 4,000 80 320,000 3,019 Lubricants Liters 50 200 10,000 94 Sub - Total 463,500 4,373 MONITORING & SUPERVISION Field costs officer (subsistence) Days 144 2,600 374,400 3,532 Field costs officer (subsistence) Days 144 1,700 244,800 2,309 Sub -Total 619,200 5,842 WAREHOUSING Rent months 12 80,000 960,000 9,057 Loading / offloading months 12 40,000 480,000 4,528 Pest control Lump sum 50,000 472 security months 12 32,000 384,000 3,623 Sub -Total 1,874,000 17,679 OFFICE COSTS Stationery Lump sum 350,000 3,302 Communication(postage,tel,email etc) Lump sum 319,000 3,009 Bank charges Lump sum 27,600 260 Utilities Lump sum 200,000 1,887 CHAM Units overheads Units 87 30,000 2,610,000 24,623 Sub - Total 3,506,600 33,081 Evaluation Lump sum 1,600,000 15,094 Audit Lump sum 700,000 6,604 TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE 88,133,072 831,444 Exchange Rate: MK to 1 USD = 106 REQUESTING ACT MEMBER INFORMATION The Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP) IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION The ELDP programme has been actively involved in emergency operations. In 1992-1993, ELDP successfully carried out a joint drought relief programme with Christian Council of Malawi (CCM) in the northern districts of Karonga and Rumphi. During the same years, ELDP assisted the government with drought relief operations in Mulanje district (now Phalombe district). ELDP has also within the years assisted flood-affected people in Chikwawa district jointly with Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD), and also in Phalombe district jointly with World Food Programme (WFP). ELDP has also successfully implemented food relief programmes in its operational areas of Karonga district in the north, Chikwawa and Phalombe districts in the south. The food relief programme (AFMW-22) was a Joint Appeal by a Consortium of ACT partners in Malawi: including the following: Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD), Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (Blantyre Synod Projects Office), Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (Livingstonia Synod), and ELDP. Each agency responded in their areas of operation. DESCRIPTION of the EMERGENCY SITUATION The total number of drought-affected people in Malawi last year was 3.2 million people. In the four districts where ELDP intends to operate, the majority of people need relief food assistance, agriculture production support and training in emergency preparedness. Karonga In 2003, Karonga, the most northerly ADD in Malawi, is estimated to have 382,764 people or 3.3 percent of the country’s total population. The weather in the ADD was conducive to increased crop production at the start of the 2002/03 growing season. However, as the season progressed conditions became less favourable. From the fourth week of January, when most maize grown in the area was at the tussling stage the rainfall ceased until the end of February. Yield potential for maize, groundnuts and sorghum was adversely affected by the dry spell lasting nearly one month. The ADD has endeavoured to ameliorate the adverse consequences of this situation by promoting such measures as winter cropping, crop diversification and the use of treadle pumps in all irrigatable areas. The production of pulses, cassava and potatoes is expected to increase quite significantly in the 2002/03 cropping season compared with the year before. Shire Valley Shire Valley is the most southerly ADD in Malawi (covering Chikwawa and Nsanje). As its name implies much of it lies along the Shire River. The ADD is bounded on two sides by the border with Mozambique. In 2003 it is estimated to have a population of 615,820 people accounting for 5.3 percent of the overall population of Malawi. Cumulative rainfall both in terms of recorded quantity and rainy days in the 2002/03 cropping season was less than in the year before. Although it varied in different parts of the ADD, two dry periods occurred during the season. The first lasted from the 3rd week of January to the 3rd week of February 2003. The second took place in the first we