At present there is only one national safety net program5 in Malawi, WFP's supplementary
feeding program, targeting malnourished children in Nutrition Rehabilitation Units. While this
is a well-targeted program which provides important support to children and families, it is not
sufficiently broad in scope to form a basis for a response to drought. However, the recent
introduction of public works programs, including FFW programs, by WFP and MASAF, could
form a basis for a more general safety net.6 Income transfer programs also fall into this category.

 To be suitable as a basis for a response to transitory food insecurity, a safety net program
should be capable of national coverage, should be capable of being stepped up and down in scale
as conditions require and should not disrupt the development of markets. It should be appropriate
for as wide a section of the affected population as possible and be cost-effective in delivering
resources to the target group.































 5 A more full discussion of safety nets is contained in Annex F.

 6 Public works programs are discussed in Annex G.