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afrol News, 17 April - In Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe excessive periods of drought, floods and the disruption of farming activities are likely to cause serious food shortages, while the situation in Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland is similarly difficult. Also eastern Africa and the Horn face problems. According to a report released yesterday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), southern Africa is already experiencing a food crisis. In this part of the continent, the report warns, "a food crisis looms over several countries following sharp falls in maize production in 2001 and unfavourable harvest prospects this year." Maize is the major food crop in the region. "Acute food shortages have emerged in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, where food reserves have been depleted and food prices have soared undermining access to food for large sections of their populations," FAO adds. According to the report, also Angola is at risk of facing a precarious food situation due to the long-running civil conflict in the country. Civil strife also continues to undermine the food security of millions of people in Congo Kinshasa (DRC) in the Great Lakes region. In other parts of the sub-Saharan Africa the food production has generally improved over the last year, FAO reports. Especially South Africa is expected to heighten its maize production considerably since last year's below average level. In Rwanda and Burundi the food situation is significantly better, but sporadic violence in some provinces of Burundi continues to displace rural populations and disrupt food production. Also in the Sahel, the general food outlook is positive. In eastern Africa the overall food supply situation also has improved considerably since last year, although pastoral areas of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia still suffer from continued drought conditions. Eritrea and the Ethiopian border region however still suffer from the instability of the region, in particular due to returning refugees from Sudan. The overall food situation still is positive, FAO reports. The report says that the food outlook for 2002 is "generally favourable" for western Africa following above-average to record harvests in the Sahelian countries and satisfactory crops elsewhere. However, Mauritania, Liberia and Sierra Leone are all threatened by food supply problems caused by below average harvests in the case of Mauritania and civil strife in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The report warns that Liberia and Sierra Leone "will continue to rely on international food assistance for some time to come." According to earlier reports by the World Food Program (WFP), donor response to the food crisis in southern Africa has "been sluggish." The UN agency added that "much more must be swiftly done to stave off the spread of hunger and malnutrition." HIV/AIDS rates across southern Africa are also extraordinarily high. An absence of food puts an even greater strain on HIV/AIDS victims and the family members struggling to care for them, WFP fears. FAO lists 19 countries currently facing exceptional food emergencies. These are: Angola, Burundi, Congo Kinshasa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Sources: Based on FAO and afrol archives
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