Zimbabweans Face Massive Food Crisis

Of the 10 million people who need food aid in SOUTHERN AFRICA this year, 2.9 million are in ZIMBABWE. However as a contingency, the U.N. World Food Programme plans to assist up to four million people in ZIMBABWE in the year ahead.

This is revealed in a joint report by UNITED NATIONS agencies and the 13-nation SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC), released in June. The food shortages, mainly attributed to drought, have been further aggravated by a political and economic crisis stemming from ZIMBABWE's widely criticized fast-track land reform programme in 2000. The MUGABE government is also under enormous pressure from the International Monetary Fund to pay one billion dollars in debt before the 16th of August or face expulsion from the global lender. In an attempt to defuse the crisis, President MUGABE is rumoured to be turning to friendly nations such as SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA and CHINA for help.