AFRICA - 2,50 dollars a month is enough to save a life in southern Africa where 9.7 million people rely on humanitarian agencies for food

Rome (Fides Service) - According to the World Food Programme WFP 2,50 dollars a month is enough to save a life in six of the poorest countries in southern Africa where 9.7 million people rely on humanitarian agencies for food.
The situation is critical and will get worse in the coming months. Because of poor harvests caused by drought and limited international resources assigned for Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the next six months will be extremely difficult for the people in these countries already exhausted from living off roots and seeds which can even be poisonous if not properly cooked.
The situation is most acute in Zimbabwe where because of domestic policies, over 750,000 are homeless, 4.3 million have nothing to eat and the unemployment rate is 70 percent.
WFP feeds 90 million people in 80 of the world’s poorest countries. These 90 million include 56 million children in need of immediate aid. Life expectancy in this part of Africa is less than 35 years. According to WFP even if the harvest in April is good 1.5 million people will still need to buy food.
This is the fourth consecutive year that southern Africa suffers from a food crisis, exacerbated by a state of endemic poverty . (AP) (9/11/2005 Agenzia Fides ; Righe:25; Parole :300)