Lesotho starving for aid
2003-12-30 12:56
Maseru - Lesotho will need 19 000 tons of food aid to feed about 322 000 people facing severe hunger over the next six months, the UN World Food Programme said Monday.
The agency issued a statement saying that an appeal in July for $419m to feed the most vulnerable people in southern Africa had brought just $102m dollars.
"The region faces a catastrophe brought about by poverty, food shortages, HIV/AIDS and soaring unemployment rates," it said.
In Lesotho, a mountainous enclave surrounded by South Africa, "severe drought conditions started as far (back) as April," said WFP Lesotho director Techeste Zergaber.
"Drought conditions, despite a few showers, are expected to continue," he said.