Malawi says 8 million people need food relief due to drought

Reuters
A Malawian man carries food aid distributed by the United Nations World Food Progamme (WFP) in Mzumazi village near the capital Lilongwe, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

LILONGWE (Reuters) - More than 8 million people in Malawi need food aid as a result of a drought that has decimated crops, the minister of agriculture said on Wednesday. "The results of this rapid assessment showed that close to 8.4 million people will need food because they have partially or completely lost their crops through El Nino induced dry spells," Godfrey Chaponda told Reuters. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda; Editing by Joe Brock)