Southern Africa’s children face a New Year of hunger
Johannesburg, 22 December 2005 - While much of the rest of the world feasts over the holiday season, more than nine million southern Africans face an uncertain future in 2006 because WFP lacks the funding to deliver enough food aid to the hungriest in the region.
WFP needs US$77 million immediately to keep providing food aid in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe – the countries hit hardest by the region’s food crisis – until June 2006, when the next harvest is due.
Lesotho and Swaziland will also receive food aid for the same period.
WFP is working to stem the impact of the ‘triple threat’ in southern Africa: the combination of extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS and the weakening capacity of governments to meet the needs of their most vulnerable citizens.
Southern African countries have nine of the 10 highest HIV adult prevalence rates in the world.
“The people who suffer the most when there are food shortages are the children, the sick and the elderly,” said Mike Sackett, WFP Regional Director for southern Africa.
More: reliefweb.int
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