HIV/AIDS seriously impacts social service delivery

Spiralling HIV/AIDS rates and ongoing food shortages were to blame for the "world's most serious" humanitarian crisis, James Morris, the UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, said on Tuesday. At the end of a week-long mission to Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Namibia, Morris noted that the average regional HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 24 percent had taken its toll on the ability of governments to deliver essential social services. "What is happening in southern Africa absolutely represents the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today," Morris told reporters in Johannesburg. "The number of trained health practitioners, teachers, and other professionals that are succumbing to HIV/AIDS is causing a truly extraordinary human resources vacuum in societies across the region," Morris said. "It is impossible to counter the crisis if people aren't on the ground to implement effective programming, or to deal with the sick and dying, or to care for the unprecedented number of orphans and other vulnerable groups." Southern Africa has the highest rate of HIV in the world and an estimated 4 million children have been orphaned by the AIDS. In several countries the virus has become the leading cause of mortality. Since 1992, HIV prevalence among women accessing antenatal care services in Swaziland has risen from 3.6 percent to 38.6 percent. About 500 new infections are recorded each day in Mozambique and of these, half are women aged 25 or younger. Morris, who is also the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, noted overall good progress in food production despite crop forecasts being slightly below last year's levels. Zambia had staged a remarkable recovery, mainly due to favourable weather and government assistance to small-scale farmers, after the 2002 food crisis when millions of Zambians had to rely on food aid to survive. During the last two years, WFP had bought some 160,000 mt of food from Zambian producers. Zimbabwe has, however, remained a concern. In May the government announced that it would not require international aid, amid projections of a record bumper maize harvest of 2.3 million mt. But independent agencies predicted shortfalls of between 600,000 mt and 900,000 mt. "It would be a remarkable turnaround - maybe one of the most remarkable turnarounds in history - if they are able to go from this huge food deficit situation to a situation where they will have more than enough food to feed their own population," Morris commented. The UN envoy was due to travel to Zimbabwe as part of the tour but his trip reportedly coincided with a cabinet meeting and Zimbabweans officials said they could not meet with him. Nearly 2.3 million rural Zimbabweans are food insecure, according to a recent report by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC). The ZIMVAC is an inter-agency body in which UN agencies, government and the Southern African Development Community participate. If the government were to issue an appeal for assistance later in the year, said Morris, a rapid response by the UN might not be possible, although the organisation would be available to provide technical support. The special envoy's mission came at a time when the US $615 million UN appeal for southern Africa remains seriously underfunded. Only $327 million in donations have been confirmed to date.