Malawi victims get 6K tonnes of rice, $300K funds from China

China donated more than 6,000 tonnes of rice and at least USD 300,000 as humanitarian aid to Malawi victims of the flood disaster on Wednesday, April 3.

Speaking during the symbolic presentation of the items in the capital, Lilongwe, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi Liu Hongyang said Chinese people share the same grief with Malawi. About 2,000 tonnes of rice had been transported to the disaster-hit country. The donation came in the wake of the disaster which killed 60 people and displaced thousands of others.

Malawi's Minister of Homeland Security and Disaster Management Affairs, Nicholas Dausi, hailed the Chinese government for the thoughts of kindness during the grieving moment. He said the aid would go a long way to support displaced households and those who were injured during the disaster in March. "When one gets hit by such a disaster and gets displaced, the immediate need is food for survival," said Dausi, adding that the rice from China will cater to that need.

He added that the aid would help in buying some temporary shelter while some of it would be channelled toward the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure. Malawi is one of the three African countries, along with Zimbabwe and Mozambique, that have been highly affected by floods due to Cyclone Idai. Statistics from the country's Department of Disaster Management Affairs indicate that about 869,000 people have been affected while some 87,000 people have been completely displaced and are in need of help.

In addition, the Chinese ambassador announced that the Chinese medical team in Malawi will visit some of the disaster-hit areas in the country's southern region to attend to the injured victims, Xinhua noted.

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