The food shortage crisis in three southern African countries is far from over and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed for $78-million to provide emergency aid to millions of people.
”We had hoped to scale back our activities in 2005 following two massive regional aid operations over the past two years, but unfortunately the crisis in parts of southern Africa is far from over,” the WFP said in Johannesburg.
”Early next year, the lives of almost two million people will be at risk.”
WFP regional director Mike Sackett said the money was needed to provide emergency aid to 1,85-million people in Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland in the first half of next year.
He said the three countries had suffered extremely poor harvests this year due to drought and the exacerbating effects of poverty and HIV/Aids.
Malawi’s cereal crop was estimated to be 17% less than the five-year average. In Lesotho, the 2003 winter harvest failed, and improved rains early this year came too late to save the maize crop, which was estimated to be 68% below the average.
Lowveld areas in Swaziland were hit by both a late start of the rainy season and below normal rainfall. That country’s maize crop was estimated to be 30% less than the average.
”WFP requires 127 000 metric tonnes of food aid commodities valued at $78-million to meet the emergency needs of drought-affected households in Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland in the first two quarters of 2005.
”Given the lengthy time lag between the confirmation of contributions and actual food distributions, it is crucial that donors start responding immediately.”
Sackett said WFP would also assist thousands of other ”chronically poor and food-insecure” people in these three countries, as well as in Zambia and Mozambique as part of a longer term operation. This programme would run for three years.
”Donors have been very generous over the past few years and have helped WFP to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in southern Africa,” he said.
”But there is no time to rest. The international community must stay focused on the crisis in this region otherwise many of the gains that have been made and most importantly, lives that have been saved, will be lost.” – Sapa