HarvestPlus is implementing a rapid-response biofortification project in six countries across Africa and Asia to help address the immediate malnutrition threats from the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malawi, the project’s beneficiaries include two particularly high-risk groups: women with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant teens.
These two humanitarian interventions in Malawi, taking place in April and May 2021, are expected to meet the needs of around 6900 girls, women, and their family members with biofortified maize, and 12,000 households in total with biofortified maize seeds.
Meals to women with HIV/AIDS
The project has been working with the Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS program (EHAP) at the Ekwendeni Hospital, a community-based organization in northern Malawi, to provide people with HIV/AIDS with about 100 metric tons of emergency vitamin A Maize (VAM) grain, flour, and seed. About 80 percent of the beneficiaries are women.