Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Friday, 27 September, 2002
Elizabeth Blunt, BBC correspondent at the United Nations
Mr Morris, who has just returned from a visit to the six worst affected countries in the region, is expected to meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday to discuss the situation.
Mr Morris arrived at the UN headquarters in New York visibly moved by what he had seen on his journey.
He said it had been "a mind-opening, emotional experience for everyone on the team".
Firstly, he said, the numbers threatened by famine had grown more rapidly than they had expected.
Hardship
The World Food Programme has recently revised upwards the number of people it believes to be at risk across the region from 12.8 million to 14.4 million, with the greatest hardship likely to occur in March next year, just before the next harvest.
Mr Morris said donors had been incredibly generous, and he believed it would be possible to generate the necessary resources by then.
But it was not going to be possible to get two months' supply of relief food into position before the rains started in October, and huge issues of transport and timing still remained.
Impact of Aids
What clearly made the strongest impression on Mr Morris and his colleagues was the realisation of how famine and Aids are inter-connected.
The loss of productive capacity caused by the disease was reducing agricultural output across the region, and hunger was weakening those who are already infected and lowering the resistance of those vulnerable to infection.
He said that the WFP was now rethinking the so-called basket of food that it provided to those in need.
It will make the provisions more nutritious in the hope that a better diet will make the vulnerable more resistant to the HIV virus, and keep up the energy levels of those already infected.
020927
BB020915
Copyright © 2002 - BBC. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BBC.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
.