|
|
|
Hopes that the growing humanitarian crisis in
southern Africa has been countered are ‘fading
fast’ |
|
"These are people for whom the
prospect of survival is critical in the face of
the combined effects of food insecurity,
weakened capacity for governance and HIV/AIDS."
Chris Kaye, Regional representative of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) highlights the crisis facing the
region in the 2003/4 season.
|
UN agencies are warning that southern Africa is
again facing famine because of drought and a
lack of money from international donors. The Deputy Director of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs said that there was some optimism that
the situation would improve when the UN launched
its multi-million-dollar appeal on behalf of
countries in the region in 2003. "However, this
optimism is fading fast for two main reasons;
one is erratic rainfall that has negatively
impacted on food production resulting in a
significant deterioration of the food security
situation. And second is the lack of funding for
critical assistance activities, particularly in
the social service sectors, which continues to
expose millions of people, in particular
children, “he explained.
A mid-term review of the consolidated appeal for
the region notes that the food security
situation is "again being severely threatened",
while aid for non-food items has not been
forthcoming. At the launch of the review, the
eight
UN agencies stated that they still
required US $318 million for a multisectoral
approach to address the needs of southern Africa
and that the "situation ... remains precarious."
The total for the consolidated appeal now stands
at US $642 million. "Our major problem has been
that while donor response to food aid has been
good, it has not been the case with the non-food
items, such as water, health care and education,
which are just as important," World Food
Programme (WFP) spokesman Richard Lee commented.
According to the review, 70% of food aid needs
have been covered, however, only 14% of non-food
aid projects and social services support were in
place. The consolidated appeal was launched in
July 2003 by UN agencies, in collaboration with
the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and key non-governmental organisation (NGO)
partners, to address the critical needs of
6.5
million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Children have been worst affected by the poor
response to non-food activities, which amounts
to only $24 million.
"After millions of children
have been saved from starvation, it is tragic
that their lives now remain at risk from a lack
of clean water, adequate sanitation and proper
health care. Unfortunately, without additional
funds, crucial projects in these fields will
have to be scaled back while others may never be
implemented at all," the UN Special Envoy
for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa
explained.
The Senior Program Officer for the UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF) emphasised that
children – in particular the three million AIDS
orphans – will be the main victims of the
funding shortfall. If assistance is not
forthcoming, he warns, there will be a
generation of lost children, a legacy that the
region cannot afford. He states that orphaned
children face enormous hardships.
As a result of the limited resources, some
agencies in the health sector had to divert
funds from regular programmes to respond to
outbreaks of diseases and urgent reproductive
health issues, while outreach services to
vulnerable populations, including orphans and
vulnerable children (OVC), had been delayed in
some instances. "By mid January, key sectors,
including health and nutrition, and water and
sanitation, which are crucial for reducing
morbidity and mortality, had received only 30%
and 20% of requirements respectively," the
mid-term review declared.
The protection sector, which includes programmes
ensuring basic care and protection for OVC,
received no funds. Resources were also
insufficient for the agricultural sector,
resulting in the failure to stop the spread of
foot-and-mouth disease and contagious bovine
pleuro-pneumonia. "Failure to contain these
diseases will seriously affect the already
severely reduced livestock assets of vulnerable
households and national economies," the review
stated.
Besides the lack of funding, the review listed
several other negative developments in the
region, such as faltering health services and
erratic weather patterns, which have affected
the agricultural season. Increased unemployment,
caused by the deterioration of political and
economic conditions, particularly in Zimbabwe,
had impacted negatively on household incomes.
The continuing drought and the HIV/AIDS epidemic
are expected to keep WFP in
the region for years
to come.
WFP spokesman, Richard Lee, explained that, "we
had hoped to move away from the basic provision
of food to addressing the HIV/AIDS related
problems threatening
long-term food security.
But the continued drought means we have to
continue providing the basic needs. HIV/AIDS is
the underlying cause of vulnerability in the
region. It worsens the food crisis and the
shortage of food in turn worsens the epidemic."
HIV/AIDS erodes production and income as parents
die and families headed by children or
grandparents farm less and earn less. This in
turn affects people living with HIV who do not
get adequate nutrition. "Providing
antiretrovirals
is no good unless it is accompanied by proper
nutrition. It's a vicious circle," he said.
Half of all Africans still live in absolute
poverty. While the figures for drought and
famine in southern Africa are less apocalyptic
than they were in 2003, the scale of human
misery is unacceptably high and an appeal to the
international community for special help looks
inevitable. Food will have to be bought from
South America as the drought in southern Africa
will make food either too scarce
or too
expensive to source here. Lee further pointed out that:
Although the number is lower, these people will
have had two years without proper feeding. The
picture will become much clearer when harvesting
starts in about six weeks' time. Many people
have already started going hungry and are
desperately waiting on the harvest. Early
indications are that this year's crops will be
as bad as last year's. Lesotho, where there has
been virtually no rain, has already declared a
state of emergency. Between 600 000 and
700 000
people – a third of the kingdom's population –
will need emergency food aid. Swaziland has
declared of 1992, which first brought the WFP to
the region.
Southern Mozambique faces its third
year of drought and some areas of south-central
Mozambique have seen no rain in four years. The WPF is making an emergency assessment in
southern Malawi ahead of the detailed crop
assessments made by the United Nation’s Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in May.
|
|
|
|
Children facing a possible future without food.
WFP |
|
Southern African humanitarian situation. Reliefweb |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
