United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that soaring food prices, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, are pushing poor people to the brink of hunger in Malawi.
The agency says nearly 400,000 Malawians were already food insecure due to floods and droughts and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the southern African nation.
In the last three months bakery owners revealed that the retail price of a 50-kilogram bag of wheat flour has risen by 42% and between October 2021 and April 2022, petrol prices rose by 54% and diesel by 64%.
According to the UN, Malawi has a fragile economy, and with a population of 19 million it has the fourth-highest percentage of people living in extreme poverty in the world.