WFP funding shortfall

The current emergency feeding operation for Southern Africa is only 37 percent funded with a 71,000 mt shortfall until the end of the year, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. WFP has a US $320 million deficit for its emergency operation. "Without an urgent response by donors and humanitarian agencies, a further poor agricultural season could continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable families in the region," the food agency said in its latest report on Friday. In Zambia the future of the cereal pipeline depended on the outcome of decisions on genetically modified (GM) food, WFP said. Delivery of a consignment of GM maize is on hold while the government evaluates the findings of an urgent overseas fact-finding mission on the safety of GM food. In a normal month WFP aimed to feed 2.5 million people with 21,000 mt of food, WFP spokeswoman in Zambia, Jo Woods, told IRIN. They currently only have 10,800 mt available. The next consignment - to be bought in South Africa with a donation from Japan and the Netherlands - was only due in November. To make current stocks stretch, "we have had to figure out who is more vulnerable, which is not easy," Woods said. According to WFP's situation report, a recent rapid health assessment in districts in Zambia's Southern province showed a very high prevalence of pellagra, which indicates a general food shortage. It also found clinical malnutrition among children, especially kwashiorkor. Zimbabwe has also placed restrictions on GM food, accepting only milled genetically altered maize. Richard Lee, a WFP regional spokesman, told IRIN a consignment of GM maize was "on its way" from South Africa to Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo to be milled. The report said that WFP was focusing on beneficiary registration and verification in anticipation of increased distribution this month of over 30,000 mt of food for two million people in 28 districts - double the tonnage distributed in September. In response to a South African media report of alleged bureaucratic hurdles within the region, Lee added that a recent Southern African Development Community meeting discussed ways of smoothing logistical obstacles like border clearance procedures. "Things have not taken longer than expected but we want to see if we can speed things up," he said. In Malawi, 1,800 mt of pulses were purchased locally to prevent a break in the food pipeline, the WFP report said. Discussions were underway to allocate 150,000 mt of subsidised maize being imported by the government. In Mozambique the pipeline was healthy to the end of December but additional contributions were needed to maintain distributions after December. The food pipeline in Swaziland was complete until mid-February, but in Namibia the government had a shortfall of US $4.5 million out of the US $14 million needed to provide relief assistance to 340,000 people. The Canadian government provided some good news last week with a US $7 million contribution to the Southern Africa relief effort. "Many countries in the southern African region are facing their worst crisis since the 1992 drought," said Susan Whelan, Canada's minister for international cooperation, in announcing the donation.