U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 263
26 - 30 December 2005


CONTENTS:

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Acute malnutrition rates rise as food crisis deepens
COMOROS-MADAGASCAR: EU commits aid to "invisible victims"
ZAMBIA: Cholera outbreak claims six lives, more deaths expected
MOZAMBIQUE: Household food security set to improve
MALAWI: Royal visit to highlight hunger crisis
SOUTH AFRICA: Abalone poachers winning war against under-funded protection officers


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Acute malnutrition rates rise as food crisis deepens

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it lacks adequate 
funding to deliver food aid to the most vulnerable people in Southern 
Africa.

Aid agencies estimate that some 12 million people are food insecure in 
the region, which has suffered widespread crop failures due to erratic 
weather. The impact of HIV/AIDS, deepening poverty and the weakened 
capacity of governments to care for people in need have exacerbated the 
current crisis.

"WFP needs US $77 million immediately to keep providing food aid in 
Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe - the countries hit hardest by 
the region's food crisis - until June 2006, when the next harvest is 
due," the agency said in a statement.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50855


COMOROS-MADAGASCAR: EU commits aid to "invisible victims"

The Indian Ocean Islands of the Comoros and Madagascar are to receive 
Euro 1.1 million (US $1.3 million) in relief aid from the European Union 
(EU).

EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, said 
in a statement that "millions of vulnerable people in Africa are exposed 
to natural disasters like droughts, floods and insect infestations as 
well as armed conflicts" that rarely made headlines in the western 
media.

He added that these "silent tsunamis ... still lead to great suffering".

Comoros will be allocated Euro 600,000 ($711,000) to help restore access 
to safe drinking water for an estimated 175,000 people.

The emergency humanitarian aid will be used for the cleaning and 
rehabilitation of village water tanks that were polluted by ash and 
debris following the Karthala volcano eruption on 24 November.

Madagascar will receive Euro 500,000 ($600,000) to aid about 150,000 
people suffering severe malnutrition in the southern Vangaindrano 
district that was affected by repeated floods, insect infestations and 
drought.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50853


ZAMBIA: Cholera outbreak claims six lives, more deaths expected

Heavy rains have exacerbated a cholera outbreak in Zambia, where at 
least six people have died and more than a thousand cases have been 
recorded.

Zambia's ministry of health confirmed on Wednesday that 1,144 cases of 
cholera have been reported since the outbreak began in August, with the 
numbers rising sharply in the last week.

A ministry of health official told IRIN the epidemic was mainly 
concentrated in urban areas. "Most of the cholera cases are from [the 
capital] Lusaka. Cases are increasing everyday due to the sanitation and 
water problems we have at this time of the year [during the rainy 
season]," the official noted.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50863


MOZAMBIQUE: Household food security set to improve

Food security is likely to improve in Mozambique as desperately needed 
rains signal the end of the dry season, but food aid will remain crucial 
for the next few months, humanitarian workers warn.

According to the latest bulletin by the US-funded Famine Early Warning 
Systems Network (FEWS NET), household food security in drought-affected 
south and central areas of Mozambique are expected to recover as water, 
food aid and seasonal fruits and vegetables become available.

"Rains have thus far been near to above normal in most districts, 
providing favorable conditions for land preparation and planting - the 
availability of water for agriculture, livestock and human consumption 
has improved - although the overall outlook appears positive, continued 
monitoring is necessary," the report said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50887


MALAWI: Royal visit to highlight hunger crisis

Recently appointed United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill 
Ambassador, Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, visited 
Malawi this week to highlight the food crisis in that country.

Daughter of His Majesty late King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan, Princess 
Haya visited at the peak of the lean season to spread awareness about 
the plight of the poor and hungry in countries that "have been 
overshadowed by other world crises", according to a WFP statement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50866


SOUTH AFRICA: Abalone poachers winning war against under-funded 
protection officers

The Atlantic ocean lapping South Africa's Western Cape is perfectly 
calm, which leaves marine coastal manager Peter Bernardy fearing the 
worst.

Although no suspicious characters can be seen along Pringles Bay's rocky 
beach, Bernardy insists that scuba divers are crawling along the seabed 
beneath large seaweed fields, poaching massive sea snails called abalone 
found a few hundred meters from shore.

"The water is clear, so they are out there - you can bet poachers are at 
work. I don't have the manpower to cover the 300 miles of coastline we 
have been allocated to protect and they have spotters who watch our 
movements, and give teams of divers the all clear to go and take the 
abalone. It's a real game of cat-and-mouse, and we're loosing."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50883


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