Famine spreads across southern Africa

[Diane Monaco <dmonaco@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Southern Africa faces worst hunger crisis in 10 years
Tuesday May 21, 12:00 PM

Southern Africa faces the worst conditions for famine and disease in 10
years. Bad weather, poverty and political violence have led world agencies
to warn that more than five million Africans are on the brink of requiring
food aid.
Many of the affected areas have suffered food shortages over the last two
or three years and some scientists predict that the El Niño weather
phenomenon will cause trouble for next year's crop as well.
More Africans were hit by food shortages in 1991-92, but those problems
were caused by drought alone. "What we're dealing with now is a much
starker problem - it's droughts combined with economic problems. This is
going to be more difficult to get out of," says UN World Food Program (WFP)
regional information officer Brenda Barton, speaking from Zimbabwe.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020521/12/czcmb.html


Famine spreads across southern Africa
By Chris Talbot
18 May 2002

The famine in southern Africa threatens to become a major humanitarian
disaster, with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warning that
more than five million people will need food aid in the near future.
Officials based in the region say as many as 20 million people could be
affected. WFP is already feeding 2.6 million in Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The impact of flooding followed
by drought, combined with deteriorating economic conditions and the highest
rate of AIDS infection in the world, mean many more will be affected.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/afr-m18.shtml