NOEL IYOMBWA writes
THE Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has released 6,100 metric tonnes of relief for the month of August to Southern and Western Provinces in its continuous relief food distribution exercise, it has been learnt.
DMMU Communications Officer Rachael Chama said Western province has received 3,200metrict tones which will be distributed to all the 16districts and another 2,900metric tonnes would be distributed to 13 districts of Southern Province.
In a statement Ms Chama said that DMMU had further released K1.2 million to Project Implementing Partners (PIPs) engaged in distributing relief food to the affected households in the two provinces.
“These PIPs are mainly non-governmental and Faith Based organisations who distribute based on the list of the vulnerable identified by the District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs),
“The DDMCs are multi stakeholder committees, including the respective Area Members of Parliament that have the responsibility to ensure relief is distributed in an accountable manner, “she said.
And Ms Chama said about 20,000 metric tonnes of relief maize had been distributed in the relief pipeline from January to date.
“The public may further wish to know that this distribution is prior to the relief food interventions as recommended in the 2019 Vulnerability and Needs Assessment report,
“It is important to mention that this figure of relief maize distributed is what constitutes DMMU’s primary response to the SOSs that DMMU has received from various food deficit districts. Government has so far spent approximately K42 million in the distribution exercise in the affected districts across the country,” Ms Chama said.
She said that the distribution would go on until March next year and that farmer groups and selected institutions were also receiving maize bran for their livestock and fish farming projects.
Ms Chama said that interventions were meant to only cushion household’s food security and did not take over their already existing coping mechanisms.
