British aid for drought relief

The British government is to provide a grant of over US $3 million for drought relief in the southern and central parts of Mozambique, the state-owned news agency AIM has reported. It quoted a press release from the British High Commission as saying that about US $1.6 million of the grant would be spent on health and nutrition interventions aimed at reducing mortality and morbidity rates among under-fives. The money would be channelled through the UN Children's Fund which was working with the World Food Programme and other agencies in reducing vulnerability in districts seriously affected by drought, AIM reported. Mozambique is among six southern African countries experiencing food shortages, mainly due to drought, failed government policy and the impact of HIV/AIDS. Aid agencies estimate that more than 14 million people across the region are in need of food aid through March 2003. The latest Southern African Development Community vulnerability assessment said about 650,000 Mozambicans were in need of assistance.