Malawi's Economic Crisis Pushes Prices Beyond the Reach of Struggling Population

Malawi's Economic Crisis Pushes Prices Beyond the Reach of Struggling Population

Lilongwe, Milawi - In Milawi's capital city of Lilongwe, Charles Kabenan desciribed his recent experience when visiting a shop to purchase building materials. The previous day, the total cost of the items had been K1,195,400 (US$681.38), yet within mere hours, it had surged to K1,390,000 (US$792.30).

Soaring prices ignite protests in Malawi as elections loom

Under the hum and hustle of Lilongwe’s colourful Tsoka second-hand clothing market lies a sense of alarm over surging costs in Malawi, which is straining under its worst economic crisis in decades. At the shoe section, vendors’ association chairman Steve Magombo is regularly interrupted by some of the 2,000 stallholders, their voices rising urgently above the din. In the chaotic three months since the prices started rising steeply, Magombo has b…

Oxfam urges more support for starving households

Oxfam in Malawi has urged the Malawi Government to expand its social protection programmes to shield households from economic depression characterised by a rise in prices of maize and other basic commodities. The organisation’s country director Lingalireni Mihowa made the call yesterday in Chikwawa when they  launched an integrated emergency response for El Nino drought affected communities in Malawi. Mihowa noted that many households in the cou…