[pronut-hiv] HIV/AIDS Aggravates Chronic Hunger Despite Better Harvests in Region

["ProNut-HIV" <pronut-hiv@healthnet.org>]

Southern Africa: HIV/AIDS Aggravates Chronic Hunger Despite Better
Harvests in Region

World Food Programme (Rome)

PRESS RELEASE
June 28, 2006
Johannesburg

The United Nations World Food Programme warned today that despite
better harvests across southern Africa, more than three million people
would remain short of food because of chronic vulnerability caused by
grinding poverty and the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS.

The harvest report follows a one-day conference by the Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) yesterday in Johannesburg, where
representatives from 10 countries announced preliminary agricultural
production levels for the 2006/7 consumption year. Malawi recorded its
best harvest in nearly five years because of better rainfall and more
widespread availability of seeds and fertilisers.

"It is great news that the region will have a reprieve from the major
food deficits seen over the last few years," said WFP Executive
Director, James Morris, who is also the UN Secretary General's Special
Envoy. "But as long as HIV/AIDS remains at such epic proportions
throughout southern Africa, a large number of people will face severe
hardship unless international assistance is provided. Good harvests do
not necessarily mean people have enough to eat."

Many people in southern Africa will need humanitarian assistance for
the year ahead because they were unable to grow enough food to feed
themselves until the next harvest, or they are unable to buy food on the
market.

Even though harvests in some countries have reached bumper levels,
there are concerns that surpluses may be bought by traders in East
Africa, which is facing food shortages, rather than being sold at
affordable prices in southern Africa.

In addition, because southern Africa has nine of the 10 highest
HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world, many people are just too ill to
work land or earn an income. The small amount of cash in poor
HIV/AIDS-affected families is usually spent on medicines to treat their
loved ones and on funerals.

More than six million people are estimated to be infected with the
virus in Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. The number of orphans and child-headed households is also
increasingly placing a heavy burden on family structures, communities,
and the state. Nearly half of all orphans due to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan
Africa, live in these seven countries.

"Food and good nutrition are crucial in battling against HIV/AIDS but
it is very tough to convince the international community of the
complexity and depth of the pandemic in this region, especially when
people's misery is masked by green fields and good harvests," Morris
said.

"Orphans and other vulnerable children are a particular concern for WFP
as most governments can't cope with the overwhelming number of young
people who need help," Morris added. "Food assistance for these children
is their lifeline. Our support to them and the other vulnerable groups
must be steadfast."

WFP needs US$85.5 million to provide food assistance to some three
million people in southern Africa through to December. By then, the
number of families needing help could increase dramatically at the start
of the 'lean season,' when they have exhausted their food stock and
await harvesting of the main crop in April/May.

At times over the last five years, WFP food has reached up to 13
million people suffering from widespread food shortages caused by
erratic weather, poor government policies, economic stagnation and
shortages of seeds and fertilisers. During this period, many households
were forced to sell assets such as chickens, goats, cattle and even
their cooking pots to survive, so it can take families years to recover,
unless they get assistance.

"Unlike crises elsewhere, the humanitarian challenges caused by
HIV/AIDS in southern Africa will linger on for generations," Morris
said. "Desperate hungry people should not have to compete for
international assistance according to their level of deprivation.
Turning away from people devastated by AIDS because of other crises
should not be an option for the international community."

According to the SADC meeting, which brought together UN and
non-governmental organisations to discuss the preliminary harvest
findings, the 14-nation region recorded an overall deficit 1.65 million
tons, primarily attributed to significantly lower production levels in
South Africa. In the countries that have been worst affected by food
shortages since 2002, the preliminary situation shows the following:

Lesotho: This year's grain harvest is estimated to be 24 percent higher
than last year. Lesotho produced 133,000 tons of cereals, which together
with carryover stocks, amounts to about 155,000 tons of available cereal
compared with a domestic consumption need of 383,000 tonnes.
Vulnerability remains widespread among the country's poorest, with very
poor families renting out their land for others to cultivate, limiting
their own ability to grow subsistence crops. In most areas, the poorer
households depend on food aid and their numbers could increase if market
prices rise substantially in the coming months.

Malawi: A bumper harvest across the country has resulted in an
estimated surplus of 250,000 tons of cereals out of a total harvest of
2.35 million tons. However, some limited areas suffered production
shortages and cash crop producer prices are generally low - meaning that
many small farmers will not generate enough income to purchase
supplementary food. In addition, last year's poor harvest eroded many
household assets, as families were reduced to selling all that they
owned to buy food.

Mozambique: Preliminary results of the assessment indicate that food
security and nutrition in the country improved substantially, and the
need for food aid should drop by as much as 30 percent among
non-critically vulnerable groups. The country produced 2.3 million tons
of cereals including carryover stock compared with a national
requirement of 2.6 million tons. The assessment noted more frequent
daily meals and better household diet; water and sanitation have
improved, thanks to this year's good rainfall and an increase in new and
improvement of existing water holes.

Namibia:  In a country that is normally vulnerable to drought, this
year's heavy rains improved overall food security - although recent
flooding in Caprivi and Mariental caused waterlogging and leaching of
some crops. Inadequate farming inputs such as seeds and fertilisers and
the high cost of supplies also affected crop production and disrupted
livelihoods this season. Namibia produced 108,000 tons of food, which
together with carryover stocks brings cereal availability up to 184,000
tons versus a consumption need of 313,000 tons.

Swaziland: Cereal production in Swaziland declined this year compared
with 2005, primarily due to poor and unevenly distributed rainfall
particularly in the Lubombo Plateau and the impact of HIV/AIDS on the
country's most vulnerable population. Production together with carryover
stock totalled about 81,000 tons of cereal compared with a consumption
requirement of 195,000 tons.

Zambia: The agricultural season was generally good with widespread
rainfall, despite the late onset of rains in parts of the north and
east. In some low-lying areas, excessive rains adversely affected crops.
Nonetheless, cereal production and carryover stock broke even with
consumption needs of about 1.6 million tons. Zambia was affected by soil
erosion and degradation, damage to bridges and roads which prevented
people from reaching markets to purchase seeds and fertiliser. Over the
next few months, the desperate sale of agricultural produce and poor
water and sanitation is likely to exacerbate the nutritional status of
vulnerable people.

Zimbabwe: Preliminary VAC results for Zimbabwe were not ready for
presentation at the SADC meeting, but according to information released
to SADC by Zimbabwe's Central Statistics Office, the country produced a
cereal harvest of about 1.7 million tons. However, according to the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) better rainfall contributed to maize
production within the range of 1 to 1.2 million tons. In comparison, the
United States Department of Agriculture in February estimated maize
production of 900,000 tons. Based on this data, FAO predicted a maize
import requirement for the 2006/07 marketing year of about 300,000 tons,
about a quarter of the level of the previous year.