Maputo — The Technical Council of Mozambique's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), estimates that about 260,000 people may suffer from food insecurity in various parts of the country up until the next harvest, in March/April 2010, reports Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
The Technical Council met on Wednesday to assess activities undertaken under a programme to develop arid areas. It concluded that pockets of hunger persist, despite a generally good 2009 harvest. Food was available in all provinces, thanks to good rains, and an expansion in the area under cultivation.
The northern province of Cabo Delgado, which suffered floods, and Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo, in the south, which experienced prolonged dry periods, are where most cases of food insecurity are located.
Factors other than the vagaries of the climate also cause food insecurity, the Council pointed out, including high food prices, the reduction in migrant remittances, chronic diseases, and the reduction in sources of income.
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A source in the World Food Programme (WFP) said that 6.3 million US dollars are required to assist those in need.
Currently, the source added, only 20 per cent of the 177,000 people identified as in need of assistance up to October are receiving aid. But as from November, another 72,000 people were added to the list of those requiring food aid, because their stocks of food had run out.
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