At least 725,000 people in Lesotho will need food aid in the coming months, according to a report from the Lesotho Vulnerability Assessment Committee (LVAC).
Known as the Mountain Kingdom, Lesotho is situated in the southern region of Africa. It is a small mountainous country covering a land area of approximately 30,000 sq. km. Landlocked and completely encircled by South Africa, Lesotho is one of the smallest countries in the world, with a population of approximately 2.2 million. Poverty is deep and widespread in Lesotho, with the United Nations describing 40 per cent of the population as ‘ultra-poor’.
Food insecurity and chronic vulnerability to hunger is common in rural Lesotho, yet poor soil and two years of drastically low crop production, due to extreme flooding, have made matters worse for families already struggling to grow or buy enough food.
The LVAC report projects that almost 45 per cent of the population will face moderate to severe food insecurity in the coming months. This year’s crop projection is estimated to be at least 77 per cent less than for 2011 harvest for both sorghum and maize.
UN agencies in coordination with the Disaster Management Authority (DMA) of Lesotho and NGOs, including CARE, are currently defining a multi sector emergency and recovery response plan to mitigate the impact of food insecurity and vulnerability in the country.
CARE began working in Lesotho in 1968 and in 2001 it merged offices with CARE South Africa. Despite the range of differences between these two countries, Lesotho and South Africa share many of the same causes and manifestations of poverty and inequality, including high rates of HIV/AIDS and a lack of access to basic health care and education, which perpetuates cycles of underdevelopment. Young people and women disproportionately share the burden of disease, and lack food, education and livelihoods. CARE works with communities and local organisations within Lesotho and South Africa to implement programs in the areas of health care and HIV/Aids, economic empowerment, democratic governance and food security.