Source: Babu, S.C., and Evance Chapasuka. 1997. Mitigating the effects of drought through food security and nutrition monitoring: lessons from Malawi. The United Nations Univ. Food and Nutri. Bull. 18(1):71-81.

To minimize the consequences of drought, it is essential to obtain information on the many factors that affect the food security and nutritional status of a country's population. Drought continues to be a substantial constraint on the development of many countries in eastern and southern Africa. For countries affected by drought conditions, Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring (FSNM) is a viable tool for program evaluation and management of policy planning and implementation. The program provides a well-established infrastructure for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information with the assistance of a district level administration system to respond to the logistical needs of a population. Information collected via FSNM could be used for emergency planning, policymaking, and program evaluations in a wide range of sectors including agriculture. Agricultural programs based on this information could be implemented to alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition. For example, the country of Malawi used FSNM to manage aid and mitigate the effects of drought during crisis. The 1991-92 drought in Malawi and surrounding countries of Southern Africa was the worst the area has experienced in 40 years. Production of Malawi's staple food, maize, dropped an unprecedented 60%. However, the drop in production did not lead to mass famine, starvation, or death. Malawi responded to the drought crisis by mobilizing resources, importing food, and organizing a large-scale distribution effort. As a result, Malawi was able to cope with the 1991-92 drought and use the information collected by the FSNM system to increase food security and mitigate the long-term effects of drought. This decentralized system of data collection, processing, and analysis was successful in planning interventions for food security and nutritional improvements in Malawi. Other drought-prone countries should take note of the experiences of Malawi and should implement systems like FSMN to alleviate the immediate and potential effects of drought.

Abstract author: Matthew D. McCarthy, 12 November 1999.

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