Coronavirus outbreak has infected almost 5,614 people and claimed the lives of 175 people in Malawi, Africa.
Fried rats are in demand in Malawi as nutritionist in the health ministry said ''mice is one of the sources of proteins.'' to fight Covid-19.
A landlocked country in east Africa, Malawi, has taken an unconventional route to fight Covid-19 by eating fried rats, claiming it to be rich in proteins to ward off the virus. Street vendors are lined up in the dozens selling fried rats and people are buying and eating them in droves, hoping to keep themselves safe from coronavirus.
The health officials in Malawi had advised its citizens to rely on naturally available resources to aid their food necessitates and Sylvester Kathumba, who is a nutritionist in the health ministry said that ”mice is one of the sources of proteins,” to ward off coronavirus.
Across the highways and amid the cities, vendors are seen waving long skewers roasting the rodent meat and two large cities Blantyre and Lilongwe has reported the highest consumption of fried rats.
Environmentalists have raised concerns about Malawi’s rodent hunting practices as it not only deteriorates the health of people consuming it, the hunting method also causes serious damage to nature, as farmers mostly burn bushes in the corn fields to identify rat holes and smoke them out dead from their natural habitat, thus affecting the ecosystem and soil of the farm.
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The government of Malawi promised a monthly stipend of $50 for people who lost their income due to coronavirus but reports claim that no one has received the stipend yet. When the government was pressed by the media on why the stipend has not reached the public, they blamed it on ”financial roll-out logistics not being finalized yet,” and its been close to four months since the plan was proposed.
Malawi has suffered from malnutrition since decades and more than half of the countries population is below poverty line. The country is suffering from severe food shortage since the pandemic broke out in March, making it more difficult for people to even have a basic 3-meals per day.
The wife of a peasant farmer who hunts and fries mice for livelihood said, ”When times are hard we rely on mice to supplement our diet because we cannot afford to buy meat.”
The coronavirus pandemic has spread its evil wings across the globe destroying the livelihoods of billions, ravaging economies and causing severe food shortage. With no vaccine in hand, the virus is rapidly growing as each day passes, painting a harsh picture of reality for the future.
