National disaster declared

Swaziland Prime Minister Themba Dlamini has declared a national disaster as a result of the triple threat of drought, poverty and HIV/AIDS. The combination of AIDS, drought and poverty has created a "serious humanitarian crisis" in the country, he said. "All these have reinforced negative effects that have created a web of extreme vulnerability, reinforced by the collapse of family structures." The UN World Food Programme's (WFP) emergency co-ordinator in Swaziland, Sarah Laughton, said an estimated one in five people were in need of food aid, and added that WFP was pleased the government had linked the food crisis to HIV/AIDS.