The latest assessment by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) shows 2.6m people are expected to face food insecurity between October 2026 and March 2027, down from 4,009,537 during the previous lean season. The assessment, conducted between May and June, attributes the improvement largely to favourable climatic conditions, including normal to above-average rainfall during the 2025/26 agricultural season. In rural areas, 2,531,266 people are projected to face food insecurity, a 36 per cent decline on the previous lean season. Finance minister Joseph Mathyola Mwanamvekha thanked stakeholders supporting efforts to tackle food insecurity, saying continued collaboration would be critical to assisting vulnerable households through the lean season. The data point to a mixed picture for policymakers: a marked recovery from last year’s food crisis, tempered by a food-security challenge that, at 2.6m people, remains substantial by any measure.