Much of southern Africa continues to face severe food shortages, largely the result of one of the worst droughts in a decade. Recent rainfall has been erratic and insufficient at best, and destructive at worst. Malawi and Mozambique were among the hardest hit by Tropical Storm Delfina -- bridges, roads and railways were damaged, leaving several thousand people cut off from the aid they so desperately need. The people most affected by the storm had their homes destroyed and lost any crops they had managed to grow.
Hundreds of thousands of families throughout the region can't grow enough food to survive. Farmers have less to sell in the markets, and the price of what is available is out of reach for most poor families. Even the game and wild fruits that communities rely on in times of trouble have been depleted. Many families have been forced to sell their livestock and other possessions to buy food. But this is only a temporary solution. Severe hunger -- even starvation -- threatens millions, particularly among the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, and pregnant and nursing women.
The crisis facing the region is exacerbated by several factors, including HIV/AIDS, but none loom so large as the problem of poverty. In response, CARE is working with communities in southern Africa to address their most threatening problems, to harness the ingenuity and determination of local people to find lasting solutions to poverty.
Today, we're helping communities in the countries below (click the links for detailed reports) not only get the food they need to survive, but also work toward averting future food crises.
In Angola, CARE is working to improve food security for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Our efforts include distributing monthly food rations to more than 113,000 people in IDP camps and helping approximately 15,000 displaced families grow their own crops.
In Lesotho, CARE is combining short-term food aid with assistance for agricultural production over the next two to three seasons. Working with the government of Lesotho, CARE has provided technical assistance to the National Vulnerability Assessment (NVA), including design, implementation and analysis.
In Malawi, CARE is distributing food to thousands of households in need. We're also distributing tools and drought-resistant crop seeds to rural families whose seed stocks have been depleted in the past year. CARE continues to lead a consortium of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) responsible for coordinating all relief activities in Malawi through collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP).
In Mozambique, CARE's food-for-work projects reach about 47,000 people in 42 communities. We also provide seeds for sweet potato and other fast-growing crops, as well as for crops with staggered production cycles, such as tomatoes, onions and lettuce. In addition, we're working on longer-term activities, including small irrigation projects, to reduce the impact of the drought.
In Zambia, we're helping feed approximately 150,000 people in three of the hardest-hit areas of Southern province, and expanded in 2002 to three new districts. In addition, we've begun a food-for-work project and a supplementary feeding program for children and refugees in these areas. Another CARE project distributes seed to 100,000 farmers.
CARE is continuing our supplementary feeding program for 600,000 children; our general food distribution effort aims to reach more than 820,000 people. We're also helping rural families earn an income and gain access to maize grain and wheat meal in areas where they're scarce, while we work with small-scale farmers to improve crop diversity and livelihood security.
