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