WHO urges acceptance of GM food aid

Senior representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday urged southern African countries to accept genetically modified (GM) food aid. They said WHO was unaware of scientifically documented cases in which the consumption of GM food has had a negative effect on human health. Senior WHO officials met this week with regional health ministers in Harare, Zimbabwe, to examine the health sector's response to the unfolding food crisis in six southern African countries. "WHO believes that in the current crisis, governments of countries in southern Africa must consider carefully the severe and immediate consequences of limiting the food aid that is made available for the millions of people so desperately in need," a WHO statement released on Wednesday said. Nearly 14 million people, including 2.3 million children under the age of five, are at risk in Southern Africa. Without effective action to enable the most vulnerable to survive, at least 300,000 could die from hunger and disease in the next six months, WHO warned. WHO Director General, Gro Harmen Brundtland, told the gathering that the ultimate decision regarding the acceptance and distribution of food aid containing GM organisms rested with the government concerned, the statement said. The health ministers, however, remained divided on the issue, calling for scientific assurances that GM food was safe for human consumption. "The GM issue shrouded many of the issues on the agenda. There is a definite split when it comes to GM. While some health officials are all for it, others were vehemently opposed to the use of gene altered maize without proper certification that it is 100 percent safe," WHO regional nutritionist advisor, Andre Ouadraogo, told IRIN. Zambia has so far rejected appeals to distribute GM food aid. Zimbabwe has accepted GM maize, but on condition that it is milled before it reaches those in need.