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Sweden responds to UN appeal

[Malawi] Cecilia Sande (30) and her children Chamazi (5), Clenis (8
months)and Mazizi (4) are resorting to eating weeds and roots to survive in
the village of Chataika, southern Malawi, as food shortages become
increasingly acute. Marcus Perkins/Tearfund
Women and children have been hard-hit by food shortages and the impact of HIV/AIDS
Sweden this week donated almost US $6 million towards aid efforts in Southern Africa following a recent UN appeal for more funds to support humanitarian operations across the region. Earlier this month the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, James T. Morris, noted that donors had so far contributed just 20 percent of the required funds, leaving a shortfall of $423 million. The appeal for non-food items had raised only $9.5 million, or 4.3 percent, of overall needs. The UN appealed for $530 million in total - $310 million for food relief and $220 million for non-food items - to address the needs of 6.5 million vulnerable people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Morris warned that the lack of funds threatened to undo the "fragile gains" made over the last 12 months. The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) this week said the situation, particularly in Zimbabwe and southern and central Mozambique, had worsened because of the lack of money to pay for more food aid. "The current crisis is one of the most serious disasters of the modern era as regards extent, duration and complexity. Those people hardest hit, who are currently entirely dependent on UN food distribution, now face an uphill struggle for survival until the next harvest. With its exacerbating political situation, Zimbabwe in particular finds itself on the edge of a humanitarian disaster," Johan Schaar, head of the Section for Humanitarian Assistance at SIDA, said in statement. Over four million people in Zimbabwe face food scarcity, with HIV/AIDS compounding the impact of shortages on vulnerable households. The number of people in need is expected to rise to over 5 million during the first quarter of the year, at the height of next lean season. Mozambique's food crisis is due in part to the failure of the 2003 harvest, but another important factor is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Almost one million Mozambicans will need food aid in the coming year. "SIDA usually avoids providing support for food distribution, since we feel it provides only short-term solutions to long-term problems. We now feel the situation is ... serious [enough] to warrant food support, however. We are also providing support to other humanitarian actors in the region who are making more long-term efforts," Schaar added. SIDA gave just over $10 million in answer to the UN joint appeal for Southern Africa in 2002-03.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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