Mitigating the Effects of Drought through Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring: Lessons from Malawi

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This article uses a case study from Malawi to demonstrate the use of a Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring (FSNM) system for managing and mitigating the effects of drought. The implementation of FSNM during the drought emergency is presented, along with a description of the process of information generation and the use of results in emergency interventions. Presenting the lessons learned from the Malawi experience for the benefit of future drought-management and disaster-prevention efforts in other sub-Saharan African countries, the article concludes that a decentralized system of data collection, processing, and analysis is more likely to be successful in planning interventions for food security and nutritional improvements during periods of drought.