Malawi is one of the world’s least developed countries.  Ninety percent of the population is isolated in rural areas and more than half the country is trapped in poverty.  In 2002, a drought caused Malawi’s worst food shortage in decades.  Thousands were buried in mass graves.  A prolonged dry-spell and late rains in the 2004 season also brought below-average maize harvests, triggering another wave of hunger throughout the country.

Along with poor harvests, thousands of the most vulnerable people across the country continue to face severe food insecurity due to an 'access crisis'. Such people simply cannot afford to buy whatever food is available - even at subsidised government levels. Food insecurity in Malawi is exacerbated by a number of factors including the 15 percent adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, extremely high levels of poverty with 60 percent living below the poverty line, chronic levels of malnutrition, and the collapse of labour markets in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Current Programs
  
Offering food security for families:
ERD’s food security program helps people access food by giving them opportunities to earn an income. ERD, in partnership with the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF), provides micro credit to small groups of entrepreneurs who operate retail or service-oriented businesses in communities around the capital city of Blantyre.  The groups receive the loans and lend a set amount to each member.  The members repay the loan with interest, as well as contribute to a savings fund. The fund benefits all participating members and loan payments allow others to start small businesses.

A group of five entrepreneurs who received loans to raise and sell poultry moved on to a larger project.  They have opened the only bread bakery in the Nacholi community which is creating jobs and other business opportunities.