By early 2002, the Southern Africa food shortage had reached into every district of Malawi. On November 26, 2002, the BBC News reported that Malawi was facing "its worst famine in living memory." And in February 2003: "Aid agencies fear that nearly 3.3 million people may face starvation...."

In April 2003, responding to the emerging crisis, representatives of USAID and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Malawi called a town meeting of relief and development organizations. The Joint Emergency Food Aid Program (JEFAP) was formed that day, including those present and the government of Malawi, to respond immediately to coordinate emergency food relief. By May 2003, nationwide food distribution ended, and now the evidence became clear: the well-implemented emergency response averted widespread famine in Malawi.

Seeds delivered save lives.

The JEFAP consortium in Malawi met every week for six months, and continued biweekly thereafter. The Malawian government coordinated overall response to the crisis by forming a task force to deal with issues ranging from transportation to equal household rations.

An example of the extraordinary commitment and coordination came when the group faced a hurdle in transportation. A major emergency shipment was held up at the border of Mozambique due to trucking problems. A task force met, and within two days had put in action a transportation strategy that included district-level supervisors, private companies, and NGOs. The problem was solved, and the shipment moved.

"In my five years in Malawi, I haven't seen anything like it," said Nick Osborne, country director for CARE in Malawi. "The benefits of this coordination were undeniable; we shared vital information, and saved critical time and money by not duplicating services."

Food distribution nationwide began in June 2002. Over the next year, USAID provided Malawi with about 167,000 metric tons of food worth approximately $90 million.

Some of that food reached the village of Khasu. There, mothers and grandmothers are grateful for the food that spared them the agony of burying another child among them.

Elizabeth Ziwande explains, “Our maize crop was ruined by drought in 2002, and the youngest children became malnourished. I lost one grandson before this feeding program began. This one,” she says, referring to the 2-year-old in her lap, “was so ill, CARE had to arrange to have him taken to a hospital for emergency feeding.”

Elizabeth Ziwande's son is recovering well, according to his mother after his last biweekly checkup. Yet the women of Khasu are anxious about the future. Elizabeth says that her family’s harvests have been meager again this year, and any assets of value were sold during the last crisis.

In October 2002, nine NGOs in Malawi organized formally to implement the Consortium for Southern African Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE), a regional program of the USAID Office of Food for Peace, led in Malawi by CARE. The three year program aims to assist communities most affected by the food emergency through a developmental relief approach. C-SAFE is now addressing the longer-term reasons why communities like Khasu face food shortages.

The foremost underlying issue is the financial burden of HIV/AIDS. As productive family members become sicker, families face the costs of medicine, funerals, care for orphans, and the loss of their livelihood. Through C-SAFE, these vulnerable households may still receive free food, but through an integrated HIV/AIDS program that seeks to address the family's multiple needs.

Market evidence of diverse crops

In other areas, C-SAFE works to increase income generation opportunities in vulnerable communities. Food for work programs, for example, reach vulnerable households but also improve their capacity to sustain themselves.

In 2002-2003, the international relief community proved that the threat of famine can be averted. Now, with USAID funds and support, these organizations are applying the same commitment to building resilient rural communities in Malawi.