Southern Africa: Food assistance needed until at least next summer

United Nations, 22 November 2002 - The humanitarian relief operation for Southern Africa faces a shortage of 400,000 metric tonnes of food, according to the United Nations United Nations Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office in Southern Africa (RIACSO). This is occurring just as the most critical period for food vulnerability---the rainy season from December to March---approaches.

Early projections of the current planting season show that production has been lower than normal. It is likely that food assistance will be needed at least until the summer harvest in May/June next year. But preliminary estimates based on the number of seeds sold show that even the next season will not enable farmers to produce enough food to support the population. In Zimbabwe for example, with the number of seeds sold, approximately 1.2 million hectares could be planted, yielding a possible production of between 720,000 to 960,000 metric tones of maize. This output would be far below---by as much as half---the national consumption of 1.8 million metric tonnes. If El Niño intensifies as it is expected to, crop production could drop even lower, making it still more likely that food relief efforts will even need to stretch beyond June 2003. Though the European Union's recent contribution of 62 million Euros will help to counter significant cereal shortfalls for Zambia and Zimbabwe from December to March, donors need to respond rapidly enough to ensure that the food pipeline is not broken in the early part of next year.

The urgent humanitarian needs in Southern Africa are not limited to food aid; there are problems looming in the health, education and fuel sectors as well. At this point, only 15% of the funds required for the health sector as outlined in the UN Consolidated Appeal for Southern Africa have been received. The health sector in most of the affected countries is weakened due to the current crisis as well as the demands placed on it by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Water-borne diseases such as cholera and malaria are on the increase now that the rainy season has started. In Zimbabwe, for example, some vital drugs are no longer available and there is no foreign currency to import it.

As the crisis continues, fewer children are attending school. In Malawi, studies have revealed a high correlation between food shortages and increases in dropouts. Some 10 per cent of all male pupils and 10 per cent of girl pupils in Malawi have not attended school for 20 days or more. In Zambia, data from primary schools in six provinces show dramatic declines in school attendance. In, Siavonga district, an area badly affected by the drought, girls' school attendance dropped from 75 percent in April 2002 to 17 percent in September; for boys the decline was from 71 percent to 24 percent. In response, UNICEF has commissioned an evaluation task force from the government's Gender and Development Office to conduct a rapid assessment on the reports of child abuse, child labor and child prostitution, factors believed to be contributing to school drop-out in Zambia. In Malawi, UNICEF is distributing educational and recreation supplies to 85 schools in drought-affected communities to promote a child-friendly learning environment.

The full text of the latest update by the United Nations United Nations Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office in Southern Africa (RIACSO) is available here.