Further appeals for emergency aid

Further appeals and interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of a severe food shortage in Southern Africa have been announced. About 14 million people in the region face hunger due to drought, war and controversial government policies. The European Union (EU) has set aside a further Euro 30 million (US $29.8 million) towards the food crisis in Southern Africa. Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid, said: "The [EU] has already committed almost Euro 90 million (US $89.5 million) to help relieve the suffering. "The new resources, however, will enable us to boost our efforts still further at a crucial time. With food stocks expected to reach critically low levels in advance of the next harvest, large-scale assistance including nutritional support, healthcare and other vital support measures, are urgently needed in the coming weeks." Meanwhile, Oxfam's Community Aid Abroad has launched a Crisis in Africa Appeal aimed at helping the millions facing extreme food shortages in Angola, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The aid agency said that while people were at risk of starvation, the international community was failing to acknowledge and address the crisis. "To date, there has been minimal media coverage of the food shortages and little knowledge of the situation among the general public," Andrew Hewett, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad's Executive Director, said in a statement. "People are already dying from hunger and we must act immediately to avert further crisis." People had resorted to eating potentially poisonous wild foods, stealing crops and prostitution in order to stave off hunger, he said. So far the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has received US $110.7 million towards its Southern Africa food crisis appeal. WFP information officer Richard Lee told IRIN: "That is about 22 percent of the appeal [which is over US $500 million]. The donor response has been pretty good, given that it's still the first 24 or 25 days of an appeal for a nine month period. "However, we do need more donations and we need them quickly, we need to preposition a large amount of maize ahead of the rainy season [about 300,000 mt] on top of the food to feed people [immediately]." Negotiations were still ongoing with other donors. Lee said: "We are hopeful at the moment, we'd like negotiations to start bearing fruit as soon as possible." A shipment of about 36,500 mt of food aid was due to arrive in Durban harbour, South Africa, on Monday 29 July. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) announced that it would give SEK 50 million (US $5.2 million) in support to four UN organisations. "It is important to give support to help relieve the acute food shortage and prevent people from starving to death. At the same time, we must take a long-term view in order to secure food supply in the future. This is why we are also providing funds for seed, tools and manure," said SIDA's Eva Asplund. The bulk of the SIDA donation, US $3.6 million, would go to WFP and the Food and Agricultural Organisation to "kick-start agricultural and fishery activities and secure future food supply". Meanwhile, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) - which unites 13 leading British aid agencies such as the British Red Cross, Oxfam International, Save the Children and Christian Aid - has launched an urgent appeal to provide food, medical and agricultural assistance to the affected countries in the region. Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the DEC said: "We are seeking to fund a major aid operation in a bid to avert a catastrophic famine in the region over the coming months. There is still time to prevent the worst case scenario of death on a massive scale."