HARARE, Dec 11, 2006 (AFP) - UN special envoy James Morris on Monday pledged to help Zimbabwe fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic ravaging the economically blighted nation during a farewell tour of the region.
Morris, who met with President Robert Mugabe and representatives of aid agencies in Harare, said he had "a very useful and hopeful meeting" with the leader on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.
"We talked about food security, HIV and AIDS and its impact on the economy, women and children," Morris told journalists.
"We also talked about government strategies and its capacity to respond. We had a good meeting and I affirm the commitment of the UN to partner with Zimbabwe in its programmes."
Zimbabwe is one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV and AIDS pandemic with at least 3,000 people dying weekly from AIDS-related illness -- or about one person every three minutes -- according to the National AIDS Council.
Morris, who steps down as head of the UN World Food Programme early next year, has visited Malawi and Zambia and will proceed to South Africa before rounding off his eight-day mission in Mozambique on Friday.
He said the trip was "to gather information to give to the outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan for a report on the humanitarian situation in the region."
During an earlier visit to southern Africa this year, Morris had deplored the "death spiral" caused by a food and AIDS crisis which he said made it the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.
"What is happening in southern Africa absolutely represents the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today," Morris had said.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of an economic crisis characterised by four-digit inflation and massive joblessness with at least 80 percent of the population living below the poverty threshold.
Poor families often skip meals in order to stretch their income to the next pay day while foodstuffs such as cooking oil, bread and the staple cornmeal are often in short supply in most shops.
Morris' spokesman Mike Huggins said 4.3 million people would need food aid in southern Africa next year of whom 1.9 million were in Zimbabwe.
He said the WFP was facing a funding shortfall and would need 52 million dollars (39 million euros) for its feeding programme in the region.
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