Malawi has received an insurance payout of 11.2 million dollars (10.1 million euros), due to a devastating drought linked to El Niño that led the country to declare a state of calamity in March.

The payment was delivered to Malawi this month, the African Development Bank announced yesterday.

The payment is the result of a drought insurance policy through the bank and the African Risk Capacity Group, an agency of the African Union.

The funds received are intended to guarantee food assistance to around 235,000 families in some of Malawi's most affected regions and will also help with direct aid payments to more than 100,000 families, the African Development Bank said.

The President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera, said that the payment was "a lifeline" for vulnerable populations.

Malawi, which borders Mozambique and is already one of the poorest countries in the world, has seen its food supply ruined by the drought, attributed to the natural climatic phenomenon El Nino, which lasted a year and ended in June.

The country declared a state of emergency in March and there is a food crisis in 23 of its 28 districts.

Harvests failed across the region after El Nino caused below-average rainfall between November and April.

Tens of millions of people across southern Africa depend on small-scale farming to feed themselves and earn a living.

At the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government summit in Zimbabwe this weekend, it was announced that around 17% of the region's population, approximately 68 million people, are in need of aid due to drought.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that the first three months of this year have brought the most severe drought in southern Africa in more than 100 years.

Zambia and Zimbabwe have also declared a state of calamity and requested international aid, and Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe are expected to receive drought insurance payments by September, according to the African Development Bank.

However, it is likely that the payments they will receive will not be enough.

Zimbabwe will receive 31.8 million dollars (29.9 million euros), according to the AfDB, while in May the Harare government requested 430 million dollars (388 million euros) in humanitarian aid. (NMinuto)