FOOD insecurity in Namibia's flood-damaged northern and northeastern regions has reached alarming new heights, according to a report compiled by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

According to the FAO, "food insecurity" is a term applied when people live with hunger and the fear of starvation.

Flooding in the area, already made vulnerable by drought in 2007 and flooding in 2008, hit subsistence farmers the hardest: this year's crops could not be harvested and stored maize and sorghum were spoiled by the persistent damp, or washed away entirely.

Food inflation, or the progressive increase in food prices, is another contributing factor to food insecurity.

While food inflation has been gradually decreasing since the beginning of the year, it remains in the double digits at 11 percent, according to the Namibian Consumer Price Index released last week by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The combination of food inflation and the floods have contributed to high levels of what the WFP/FAO report refers to as "chronic food insecurity", defined as "a long-term and persistent inability to meet minimum food requirements."

An estimated 33 percent of households in Caprivi and 16 percent of households in the Northern Central regions are chronically food insecure, and an estimated 163 000 people need immediate food assistance, according to the report.

"The Directorate of Emergency Management (DEM) has the budgetary capacity to address the food assistance needs but the introduction of improved targeting mechanisms is required," said the report.

It recommended improving the transportation of food to affected areas, better warehouse management for food that is not distributed immediately, and ensuring that food assistance goes to those with the most critical need.