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Australia will provide a further $5 million for victims of the food shortage in Southern Africa, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Chris Gallus, announced today.
'The humanitarian crisis in Southern Africa is now extremely serious,' said Mrs Gallus.
'More than 14 million people are affected by food shortage and the long-term outlook is worsening as the drought continues.'
Mrs Gallus said the high incidence of HIV/AIDS was compounding the problem because it prevented large numbers of people from working their farms.
Under Australia's latest allocation, $2.5 million will be for emergency food aid under the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Emergency Operation.
The other $2.5 million will be used by Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) for feeding programs targeting vulnerable groups, including children and those living with HIV/AIDS.
This brings the Australian Government's total response to the situation in Southern Africa to $31 million.
Australia is the sixth largest donor (after the USA, EU, UK, Japan and Germany) to the WFP operation in Southern Africa.
Mrs Gallus paid tribute to the role of Australian NGOs in Australia's aid program.
'The Australian Government's support for NGO activities in Southern Africa recognises the special capacity of these organisations to reach the most vulnerable groups,' said Mrs Gallus.
Contacts:
Craig Bildstien (Office of Mrs Gallus) 0407 604 437
Jo Elsom (AusAID) 02 6206 4960 / 0412 804 489