No food shortages - WFP

The UN’s World Food Programme told IRIN this week that contrary to some recent local media reports, Mozambican flood victims are not experiencing food shortages. “We have received no new requests from any tier of government for food so I can only say no, people are not currently experiencing food shortages,” WFP spokesman Inyene Udoyen said. “The stories of food shortages that I have heard are usually about possible shortages if the farmers do not get a decent crop, which is why WFP is extending it’s emergency operation until March 2001 to provide assistance to those who will either not be able to plant or will not get a good yield.” Some media reports from Maputo have alleged that flood victims, particularly in the central parts of the country, were going hungry. But, Udoyen stressed: “Some areas might have a poor crop, but these have access to other traditional coping strategies, such as forest fruits, fishing, and hunting. In such areas, WFP’s Food Fund would provide food via food-for-work projects as decided by the communities.”