FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Significant recovery of cereal production in 2013

• Maize price remain generally high but stable

• Food security conditions improve as the new 2013 harvest increase food availability

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contributed 90 tons of food worth an estimated M1.7 Million (USD$196,000) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for distribution to people affected by drought, floods and crop failure in Lesotho.

A press release from WFP on Friday says, a range of commodities that include white beans, wheat flour, corn flour, vegetable oil, milk powder and sugar was flown into the airport this morning and will now be transported by road to Lesotho.

Almost a billion people go hungry every day and 165 million children under five suffer from malnutrition – a startling fact when you consider there is enough food in the world to feed everyone.

With the G8 summit fast approaching and the UK government tasked with halving the number of people suffering with hunger by 2015, I took a look at how the British Red Cross is tackling three very different causes of hunger, starting with our programme in Lesotho.

Lesotho

The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

Period covered by this Ops Update: 10 December 2012 to 30 April 2013. This update represents a six-month summary of the operation.

Appeal target (current): CHF 1,119,000

Appeal coverage: 32%

Appeal history:

• This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on 15 October, 2012 for CHF 1,119,000 for 9 months to assist 8000 beneficiaries.

• In December 2012, funds amounting to CHF 100,000 was contributed by the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)

Minimal acute food insecurity outcomes to prevail across the region

KEY MESSAGES

• Most rural households across the region will maintain Minimal (IPC Phase 1) food insecurity outcomes between April and June, relying mainly on own produced food stocks from the main season harvest. However, a few localized areas in southern Mozambique will experience Minimal (IPC Phase 1) and Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes in the presence of assistance, while parts of Lesotho will experience Minimal (IPC Phase 1) outcomes in the presence of humanitarian assistance between April and June.

HIGHLIGHTS

Namibia:

On 17 May 2013 the President on Namibia declared a national drought emergency and called for assistance from the international community. An estimated 330,925 people have now been classified as food insecure (14 % of Namibia’s total population of 2.324 million).

Madagascar:

UNAIDS reports that more than 7 million people are now on HIV treatment across Africa, while new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS continue to fall.

Food security levels are generally better than a year earlier in East Africa and the Sahel, with most areas facing either IPC phase 1 ‘minimal’ or phase 2 ‘stressed’ conditions, thanks to favorable agro-climatic conditions in 2012.