Relief task force confident it can cope

Swaziland's National Disaster Relief Task Force is confident that it can overcome the challenge of the country's food crisis, and help feed the 270,000 Swazis that will be in need of aid by early next year. "In a national disaster like this, the worst of its kind that Swaziland has ever faced, it is encouraging to note that everything is under control. The new numbers were a surprise, but we can handle the task. We are keeping our heads, and we are coping," Ben Nsibandze, the head of the disaster relief task force, told IRIN. He said some 144,000 people were affected by food shortfalls when this year's maize crop, the national staple food, was harvested in April. From now until November, at least 153,000 Swazis will go hungry unless they get relief food. According to the latest estimates, between January to March 2003, the figure is expected to peak at 270,000 - an increase of 40,000 on earlier forecasts. "We have concluded a tour of pocket areas that were overlooked during our first [vulnerability] survey, and that accounts for the rise in people who need assistance. But all are now accounted for," said Nsibandze. Alarmingly, however, the task force reported that 44 percent of children aged five years and younger in affected areas are already showing signs of chronic malnutrition. Around 80 percent of Swazis live as peasant farmers on communal land without title deeds that would allow them to use their property as collateral for bank loans to purchase irrigation equipment. Consequently, farmers depend on rainfall to nourish their crops. The 2001-02 cropping season saw normal rainfall, but the rains ceased for a crucial three-week period in December and January when maize plants were maturing. Much of this year's crop withered in the fields. Assuming normal rains this year, the next harvest is due in April 2003. The National Meteorological Service can only forecast through December at this point, but says rainfall for most of the country, and in particular the drought-vulnerable eastern region of Lubombo, will be normal. However, indications of a return of El Nino weather conditions, which historically suck moist air away from Swaziland, are cause for concern. Swaziland is one of six southern African nations affected by food shortages. In July, the World Food Programme (WFP) appealed for US $507 million for food and non-food aid for around 13 million people in the region. "The nation's assistance needs are being met through December," Nsibandze said. "Beyond that, during the critical months of January through April, when the next harvest is due, 60 percent of our needs will be provided by WFP. Swaziland's maize requirements are 2,200 mt a month. We must come up with 40 percent of that amount." The government is preparing a special budget to cover the food import bill. The funds needed will depend on the price of maize, which is expected to rise as demand increases, Nsibandze said. Church groups are supplementing the government's food assistance efforts, but the disaster relief task force has insisted they do so as part of a coordinated campaign. "We don't wish to duplicate their good works, and we don't want to wrongly assume that people of an area will be taken care of throughout the emergency when a church is only offering a one-time food donation," Nsibandze said. Last week, the Adventist Development Relief Agency gave the task force US $150,000 to purchase maize for the Mafutseni community, which had made an appeal to the church for assistance. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Lutheran Development Service has been distributing food to hard-hit areas in the eastern Lubombo region. An NGO, the Swaziland Farmers Development Association, is also providing food assistance to the stricken Lavumisa area. The Swaziland Federation of Employers has been briefed by the task force, and a plan of action for business participation is expected. That would put in place the final leg of a four-party coalition – international donors, government, church groups and Swazi businesses – being mobilised to meet the country's crisis.