FAO blames civil strife for food shortage in africa
Regional, Economics, 12/17/1999

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has said starvation is occurring in certain parts of Somalia as close to 1.6 million people in strife-torn country are cut off from relief operations.

In a report, it said that 15 sub-Saharan countries were facing exceptional food emergencies, with Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan being the worst affected.

"The escalation of violence in Somalia has reduced the distribution of humanitarian relief assistance," the report, prepared by the global information and early warning service senior economist, Mwita Rukandema, said.

According to the document, dry spells and erratic rains in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, have reduced cereal production making many people dependent on food assistance.

In Eritrea, half a million people displaced by war face severe food shortages while two million people in southern Sudan are dependent on emergency food assistance because of the ongoing civil war, despite a promising harvest.

A critical food situation also prevails in the Great Lakes region due to the continuing conflicts in many parts of the region.

"The food and health situation of some 821,000 people in camps in Burundi is of serious concern," the report said.

It added that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, civil strife has left some 10 million people uncertain of their next meal while the war has disrupted agriculture and marketing activities in neighboring Republic of Congo.

Apart from Angola, the food supply situation elsewhere in the southern Africa region was said to be stable although locusts still posed potential problems in central and southern Madagascar.

The report said that despite an overall increase in food production last season in Rwanda, about 900,000 returning refugees were in need of urgent food assistance.

According to FAO, bumper harvests have been recorded in several West African Sahelian states, despite localized flooding in Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad.

Food problems continued in Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone also attributed to civil strife that hit the three countries in recent years.

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