JOHANNESBURG - In response to warnings
that a worsening humanitarian crisis is on the horizon in southern Africa
next year, the international donor community has contributed vital funds
to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) that will help save millions of lives
across the region in the coming months.
Fresh end-of-year contributions, totaling
more than US$ 25.2 million, have lifted WFP's emergency operation out
of a weeks-long funding slump. With the new donations, the largest from
Japan, the African Development Bank (ADB), Germany and Canada, the operation
is now 62 percent resourced.
WFP has been urging donors for a rapid response to its US$507 million appeal to feed at least 12 million people caught in the hunger belt that stretches across Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland. The nine-month emergency operation, which began in July, still requires some US$ 190 million - more than one third of the total project cost - to make it through March 2003. To date, WFP has delivered more than 270,000 metric tons of relief food to the six countries, but hundreds of thousands more will be needed over the next few months.
"These donations have come just in time to keep the food pipeline flowing, but we are not out of danger yet. Food is running out fast and millions of people can simply not make it through the next several months without continued food aid," said Judith Lewis, WFP's southern Africa Regional Coordinator. "Our lack of resources is seriously threatening WFP's ability to feed these growing numbers of desperately hungry of people -- many of whom are suffering the double blow of HIV/AIDS and food shortages, which are intrinsically linked in southern Africa," added Lewis.
The situation is set to get worse as more and more people drop into the most vulnerable category. In the long term, the situation will not be brought under control unless more is done to address economic collapse, continued policy mismanagement, chronic poverty - and most of all, the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic that's severely debilitating the entire region.
In the short term, household food stocks across large parts of the region will diminish even faster during the 'hunger gap,' or lean season, which started this month and continues until the onset of the main harvest in April. Over the coming months, millions whose food stocks are exhausted will rely on WFP relief food for survival.
In Zimbabwe, for example, well over half the population is now in need of food aid. WFP has moved in tens of thousands of tons in December alone to feed increasingly weakened men, women and children across the country.
Early signs are pointing to another possible drought next year in parts of southern Africa. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has warned of potential problems across the region with lower than expected rainfall in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and beyond.
It is still too early to know how much next year's harvest will produce, but with unfavorable weather, insufficient access to seeds and other agricultural inputs around the region, the impact of HIV/AIDS on productivity - the likelihood is that the harvest will once again fall far short of regional needs and that additional food aid will be needed well into next year.
"The time to act is now - not tomorrow, not next week or month, but now. We need to keep moving food into the homes of families that have been torn apart by drought, disease, and economic strife," added Lewis. "We've seen a lot of generosity from the international community and would like to thank all donors for being a part of this important response in 2002. And with this month's end-of-the-year contributions, we are getting the New Year off to the right start."
The new WFP donations made this month come from: Japan (US$ 9.1 million), the ADB (US$ 4 million), Germany (US$ 4 million), Canada (US$ 3.5 million), Finland (US$ 3 million), Austria (US$ 2 million), Australia (US$ 1.4 million) and Malaysia (US$ 100,000).
For more information please contact:
Jennifer Abrahamson
Regional Information Officer
WFP Johannesburg
Tel. +27-11-5171656
Cell. Phone +27-83-3004954
Francis Mwanza
Senior Public Affairs Officer
WFP Rome
Tel. +39-06-65132623
Christiane Berthiaume
Information Officer
WFP Geneva
Tel. +41-22-9178564