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afrol News, 2 July - Over half a billion US dollars are needed to provide emergency relief food to famine victims in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland. Millions of people are threatened with starvation over the next nine months as the World Food Programme (WFP) launches its largest operation ever. The WFP yesterday launched a massive appeal to provide emergency relief food to these six countries in Southern Africa. The UN agency needs US$ 507 million to fund close to one million tonnes of food, enough to feed 10.2 million people until the next main harvest in March 2003. "WFP has only one-quarter of the food it needs for the next three months," the agency said in a statement. - This is WFP's largest emergency operation but it needs donations to succeed and those donations are needed now, said James T. Morris, Executive Director of WFP. "Southern Africa is already facing an extremely severe crisis, which will only worsen in the coming months. However, it is still possible for the international community to avert a catastrophe by responding rapidly to this appeal." The humanitarian crisis is the worst that southern Africa has experienced for a decade. However, unlike the devastating drought of 1991-92, a variety of factors, ranging from poor rains and floods to regional economic decline and governmental mismanagement, have contributed to the current shortages. According to recent FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions in the six affected countries, approximately 1.2 million tonnes of emergency cereal relief will be needed to help around 12.8 million people stave off starvation over the next nine months. WFP's appeal commits it to providing 67 percent of the region's cereal food aid, which will be targeted primarily at the most vulnerable households - such as families affected by HIV/AIDS and those headed by women, children and the elderly. - The magnitude of the crisis demands that everyone rallies together to save people's lives," said Morris, referring to the cooperation of the governments of the affected states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). "No single organisation can hope to deal with this crisis on its own," he added. Already, from June to September, seven million people need food aid, WFP assesses, rising to just over 11 million from September to November, and peaking at 12.8 million from December until March 2003. Until now, WFP has been targeting 4.6 million people. WFP warned that these numbers could easily rise as the crisis becomes more acute, requiring the agency to enlarge its appeal. Over the next few months, teams of experts will closely monitor the region's food security. The current figures are based on a number of assumptions on issues such as expected commercial food imports, effective government agricultural policies, winter harvest production, and affordable maize supplies. The food security situation in Namibia is being analysed, while the threat of another El Nino phenomenon is under continuous watch. Each of the six countries has been affected by different problems and to a different degree. However, the severity of the overall situation has been exacerbated by the fact that the region is afflicted with high levels of chronic malnutrition and with the highest prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. Coupled with rising levels of poverty and a succession of poor harvests, southern Africa finds itself facing a potential calamity. Many donors had already recognized this and have contributed to WFP's previous appeals in southern Africa. However, new donations were "urgently required." It was vital to "preposition enough supplies before October when the region's rainy season starts, when many rural areas will be rendered inaccessible." - Fortunately, the international community has already begun to respond to the crisis, said Morris. "However, a lot more needs to be done if the region is not going to have a disaster on its hands. We still have the chance to avert a major humanitarian calamity. But we must act now!"
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