African food shortage worsens
At least 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are now in need of emergency food aid, according to a report released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization today.
Civil unrest, drought, internal displacement, and economic problems have been blamed for the food shortage.
23 countries are affected including Angola, Burundi, Kenya, and Sudan, as well as areas with well-documented problems such as Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, where people have been facing starvation for many months.
In east Africa floods and droughts have damaged crops, while in southern Africa better harvests have been undermined by problems political and economic problems.
And in central and western parts of the continents the major concern is civil strife. Renewed attacks by rebel forces in Liberia have hit the headlines again this week, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced persons in need of help, and similar problems are reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has compounded the problem across the continent. The population is less able to fight off the lack of nutrition because of the large numbers who are infected, while the number of young farm workers who have died from AIDS has worsened the problems in agriculture.
Over 28 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are either HIV positive or have full-blown AIDS.
The World Food programme has appealed for $300m this month in order to help people in southern Africa, while Oxfam has stressed the need to resolve the civil unrest in western African in order for aid agencies to be able to deliver supplies.
