Families in Phalombe Turn to Unripe Mangoes as Hunger Deepens

In parts of Phalombe district, many families are facing acute hunger during the lean season. With maize flour no longer available for many households, some communities have resorted to using mangoes as an alternative food source.

Families boil unripe mangoes to make a porridge-like dish. But because hunger is severe, children sometimes eat the mangoes raw before they are cooked, which often leads to stomach cramps.

This was the situation at the home of Dolesi, a 60-year-old grandmother who is visually impaired. When World Vision visited, her three grandchildren were at home instead of at school because they were too hungry and experiencing stomach pain from eating unripe mangoes.

"We cook these mangos and turn them into porridge but because these kids haven't eaten they just eat them like that and it causes pain in the stomach," she says.

Femiya, 12, Bridget, 11, and Chikondi, 6, all did not go school because of hunger.

Dolesi relies heavily on her son-in-law, who does piecework and helps cultivate her small field.

"As you can see I am blind so my son-in-law is the one who feeds my family. He also works in my farm to feed the family," she says.

She says one of the reasons the family was struggling is because they did not have enough fertilizer to apply in the farm to harvest more. 

With hunger worsening, Dolesi appeals for support to help her family survive the crisis and rebuild their resilience:

“We need maize and fertilizer. If we can harvest more next season, my family will not suffer like this again,” she said.

Dolesi’s story reflects the growing desperation across Malawi. In response to rising hunger, the Government of Malawi declared a State of Disaster, following assessments that over four million people — nearly 1 in 4 Malawians — are facing severe food shortages.

Phalombe is one of the hardest-hit districts, with prolonged dry spells, erratic rains, and soaring food prices leaving families with almost no coping mechanisms. Many households have now turned to wild fruits, simply to survive the lean season.

As the crisis deepens, World Vision Malawi is scaling up emergency response efforts and calling on partners — local and international — to urgently assist families like Dolesi’s with food assistance, agricultural inputs, and long-term recovery support.