JOHANNESBURG, June 28, 2006 (AFP) - Three million people remained short of food in Southern Africa as a result of poverty and HIV/AIDS despite recent good harvests, the UN's World Food Programme said Wednesday.
WFP executive director James Morris said that although the region, plagued by drought in recent years, saw bumper crops, it paradoxically made the task of the UN agency more difficult.
"Good harvests do not necessarily mean people have enough to eat," Morris said in a statement issued in Johannesburg.
"Food and good nutrition are crucial in battling against HIV/AIDS but it is very tough to convince the international community of the complexity and depth of the pandemic in this region, especially when people's misery is masked by green fields and good harvests," he said.
Many people in the region would remain dependent on donor assistance because they were unable to grow enough food to feed themselves until the next harvest or because they could not afford to buy food available at markets and shops.
Southern Africa further suffers nine of the ten highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world and many people were simply too ill or too young to work the land or earn an income, the WFP said.
More than six million people are estimated to carry the virus in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
What cash many HIV/AIDS affected families have is spent on medicines or funerals.
As death sweeps the land, increasing numbers of orphans and child-headed households are left behind, placing an additional burden on family structures, communities and the state, the WFP said.
Nearly half of all HIV/AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa live in the seven countries named.
The WFP was also concerned that food surpluses in the region would be bought by traders from east Africa -- where there are drought-related food shortages, rather than sold at more affordable prices at home.
"Orphans and other vulnerable children are a particular concern for WFP as most governments can't cope with the overwhelming number of people who need help," Morris said.
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