Plight worsened by drought
2005-05-24 22:21
Lusaka - Drought has compounded the problem of thousands of Zambians already reeling under the impact of HIV/Aids, says United Nations envoy for humanitarian needs James Morris.
He said in statement issued at the end of his visit to the country, Zambia needed about 150 000 tons of food worth $30m to feed about 1.5 million distressed people.
Morris said: "Sadly, it is a pattern that we are seeing in many parts of southern Africa and widespread relief assistance will be required."
In the last two years, Zambia produced unprecedented food surplus and exported several tonnes of maize corn to neighbouring Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Undermining country's ability
Morris said: "Zambia has made progress in strengthening its agricultural output for the last two years.
"It is unfortunate that these severe dry spells have had a massive impact on this year's production."
He said the HIV/Aids epidemic was also compounding the crisis, which was undermining the country's ability to respond to the humanitarian needs.
The UN envoy said life expectancy in Zambia had been reduced from 52 years in 1980 to an estimated 37 years in 2005.
Morris said: "The complexity of the humanitarian situation in Zambia, which is compounded by the country's large debt burden, requires that government, UN and non-governmental organisations to redouble efforts to address the challenges and devise a multi-sectored response."
During his two-day visit to Zambia, Morris held talks with Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa and visited farms, which had been devastated by the drought and suffered water shortages.
Drought affects southern Africa
Morris, accompanied by the new director of the UN children's agency, Unicef, Ann Veneman, arrived in Lusaka on Sunday for a two-day visit.
Food security, Aids and the drought affecting southern Africa were topping the agenda of the talks in Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
UN officials said Veneman was also scheduled to travel to Swaziland, which the UN said had the world's highest rate of HIV infection at close to 40%.