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Briefcase nr 51
Drought spreads
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Drought is worsening and having a severe impact
in the southern African region |
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This will increase regional dependency on donor
food supplies |
The drought in the region has left millions in
need of emergency food aid. It has affected
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique,
Zambia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Rainfall, which
was badly needed in November and December, came
too late for planting and the resulting failed
crops and harvest shortfalls are apparent. By
mid-2004 as many as 15 million people in South
Africa alone will need food aid. This translates
into around 34% of the total population.
According to USAID the total number of people
facing food insecurity in Zimbabwe could rise to
about 7.5 million by 2005.
The South African government has released US
$35.5 million to assist nearly 19 million rural
people affected by one of the worst droughts in
recent decades. Inter Press Service News Agency
confirmed that at present 4 million people in
rural areas are getting emergency water, and the
government has begun distributing food in the
worst affected provinces. The director of the
South African National Disaster Management
Centre, told IRIN that just over US $14 million
will be used to provide drinking water; more
than
US $8 million for food and close to US $5
million will go to the department of agriculture
to supply animal fodder. A pledge for additional
emergency aid will be presented to the South
African cabinet. The National Chamber of Milling
predicts that the price of maize meal, the
staple diet of most poor South Africans, will
rise by 20% spreading the affect of the drought
beyond the disaster areas. Unemployment is also
expected to rise as a result of the drought.
These impacts put the country at the centre of a
food crisis that is also affecting five other
nations – Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland
and Zambia.
Aid agencies are concerned that operations to
feed 6.5 million people in southern Africa,
excluding South Africa,
are being restricted by
a serious shortage of donor funding. Michael
Huggins, regional public affairs officer for the
World Food Program (WFP) commented, “In Lesotho
we are looking at total crop failure. In parts
of Mozambique the situation will be more severe
than during 2003. The overall picture of the
food situation in Southern Africa, which is
further compounded by the spread of HIV/AIDS, is
bleak for the next 12 months.”
Huggins went on, “When there is no food you lose
an entire generation to AIDS. People die and
leave their children to grandparents. In the
process, no knowledge of farming is passed on to
the children.” The non governmental organisation,
Christian Aid, commented that, “delayed rains, a
lack of seeds and fertilisers, and the HIV/AIDS
pandemic have impacted heavily on agricultural
recovery in the poorest communities”. Deepening
poverty in the region continues to increase the
risk of food shortages for both urban and rural
people and the need for some form of food aid
until June 2004.
The regional programme officer at World Vision,
told AlertNet that, "In Zimbabwe it's going from
bad to worse. The most desperate people in the
region are certainly in Zimbabwe.” The WFP
launched an appeal for US $311 million for the
region in July 2003, but has received pledges
for only about two-thirds of its target, despite
a decision in late January by the European
Community (EC) to increase its contribution to
Zimbabwe by US $25 million to US $83 million.
"There is a massive shortfall in the appeal of
around $100 million," Huggins said. The WFP has
had to halve its ration of maize to 5 kg a
person in Zimbabwe and stop distribution of
cooking oil and pulses because of the scale of
the food shortage and the shortfall in donor
pledges.
There have been reports that prostitution is on
the increase as young children are desperate to
get food. This is a disturbing development given
the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is affecting
Zimbabwe. The WFP said that it will not be able
to assist 500 000 vulnerable people, mainly in
Zimbabwe and Mozambique, due to resource
shortfalls. According to the Famine Early
Warning Systems Network, most Zimbabwean rural
households have been forced to reduce their food
consumption or the number of meals per day. The
effects of the drought in the southern African
region are severe and the dependency on donors
for food supplies will continue to increase. The
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
has convened a Mid-Season Strategic Assessment
and Disaster Preparedness meeting from 4-6
February, in Maputo. The programme includes
regional and country Updates on Current Climate,
Agriculture and Water Conditions. The Southern
African Humanitarian Information Management
System (SAHIMS) will publish material from these
discussions as it becomes available. |
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