16 Jan 2002
Food Relief
Relief organisations
have begun distributing food to about 36,000 people who are still suffering the
after-effects of last year's adverse weather.
Birgitta Karlgren, World
Food Programme (WFP) acting country director, told IRIN on Wednesday that about
2,200 mt of maize meal, beans and vegetable oil would be distributed to about
7,000 families over the next four months. She said food distributions began "a
few days ago" in five eastern, southeastern and northeastern districts of
Lesotho.
Karlgren said that frost and heavy rains had ruined many
families' crops last year, and that with harvests due in April only, "now is
real crucial time for these families". She said WFP had identified
beneficiaries through a survey conducted during July and August last year, but
that the project was only launched this month because the government had not
approved the proposal to assist these families until November.
World
Vision, the government and local non-governmental organisation (NGO) Dorcas are
WFP's partners in the project. In October last year WFP warned that
Lesotho was facing a "silent emergency" as drought-induced food shortages hit
poor households.(IRIN)
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