SA to give food to neighbours

2005-09-30 18:42

Johannesburg - South Africa said on Friday it will give food assistance to seven drought-ridden countries including Zimbabwe after aid agencies warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in southern Africa.

"The government has given favourable consideration to a recent request by the WFP (World Food Programme) for assistance in the light of the current food vulnerability in the region," the agriculture ministry said.

Some R140m ($22m, €18m) will be allocated to provide food directly and help households produce their own sustenance, the ministry said.

South Africa will help Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe

More than 10 million people are in need of food aid in southern Africa, according to UN food agencies, which have warned that the situation could become as critical as in Niger, where 2.5 million of the country's 12 million people are facing food shortages.

The two worst-hit countries in the region are Malawi and Zimbabwe, both with around four million people in need of food aid, although Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe maintains that only 2.4 million in the 13 million population need help.

Food shortages is only one item on a long list of problems in Zimbabwe including sky-high inflation and unemployment, all on the backdrop of serious political tensions.

The WFP warned in July that food shortages in southern Africa were expected to persist until the next harvest in May 2006.

It urged donors to come up with $266m - or 477 000 tonnes of food - immediately for the southern African countries "to avoid widespread hunger from developing into a humanitarian disaster".

- AFP