The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) has said it is assessing the impact of the humanitarian response programme to the 6.7 million hunger-stricken people as the department is winding the programme this month.
Dodma Director of Response and Recovery, Paul Kalilombe, yesterday said the department is conducting the assessment which is expected to come to an end by April 2017.
Kalilombe confirmed that the programme has reached out to all the registered households.
“Everyone has been reached out to maybe; what is varying at the moment is the package of other food items like cooking oil sometimes they [victims] are being given less according to the donors but everyone has been receiving a bag of maize every month,” he said
He further said the department has received the $8.1 million (approximately K5.9 billion) African Risk Capacity Insurance pay-out [which] is now being used to cover the deficit in the response plan for the crisis.
“It appears that we have got the money because the procurement of things to be delivered already started and what is remaining is the delivery in NFRA [National Food Reserve Agency] depots,” he said
Earlier, the then commissioner of disaster, Ben Botolo, told the media that, out of the $395 million budget meant for assisting hunger-stricken people, there was a deficit of $25 million for logistics purpose and procurement of other relief food items.
Recently, some chiefs in the Southern Region asked the government to extend the food distribution exercise by three months, considering that some areas have experienced drought which has affected their crop fields.
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