 |
| [PHOTO: UNifeed] |
Blantyre, Malawi: The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that millions face the prospect of food shortages in drought-hit areas of
southern Africa.
In a press release, WFP said it was working with government
and partners to scale up efforts to deliver food assistance to more than 3.5
million people in southern Africa. Among the worst affected countries are
Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Communities already struggling to feed their families are
now bracing for the onset of the so-called hunger season that traditionally
lasts from December until harvest time in March.
Erratic rainfall during the last planting season means
harvests in many areas have not been sufficient to sustain the nutritional
needs of farming communities this year and, even where food is available in
local markets, it is often too expensive for the poorest households.
Southern Malawi, southern Zimbabwe, and the southern
highlands of Lesotho face particularly severe food shortages. The prices of
staples like maize on local markets are unseasonably high. Maize prices have
increased 60 percent in the markets of Lesotho since the start of the
year. In Malawi, maize prices have risen
nearly 80 percent since this time last year.
In southern Malawi WFP is distributing food to more than 1.8
million people living in rural communities. The Malawi government has donated
25,000 metric tons of maize from its Strategic Grain Reserve and has announced
plans to release a further 47,500 tons. Other donors like UKAID, USAID and the
Kingdom of Norway are also supporting the operation.
In Zimbabwe some 1.6 million vulnerable people, one in five
of the rural population, are facing food shortages. While most of these are
being assisted through food distributions, some 300,000 people are receiving
cash to enable them buy their own cereals from local markets.
In the southern highlands of Lesotho, 200,000 people in
farming communities are receiving food from WFP. At the same time, WFP is
working with the Government and other UN agencies to find longer-term solutions
to the food crisis caused by two consecutive years of crop failures. The
current shortfall for WFP's Lesotho emergency operation is US$4 million. -UNifeed