300,000 face death in southern African famine

At least 300,000 people in southern Africa could die over the next six months as a result of severe food shortages following two years of drought, the UN health agency warned today.

‘‘There is now a severe humanitarian crisis,’’ said Dr David Nabarro, a senior official of the World Health Organisation.

Children are most at risk, said officials.

The UN earlier this month appealed for £330m (€516m) to buy food for the region, but Dr Nabarro said food on its own is not enough to ensure survival.

‘‘We have to also address the urgent health-care needs of the population,’’ he said. Drinking water, medicine and vaccines are also needed.

WHO officials expect to issue an appeal for around £12m (€18m) to improve health care in the region.

Dr Nabarro said up to 60 million people are in the hardest-hit area, which includes Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique.

Of those about 12 million are severely affected by the food shortages, he said. ‘‘And we expect that number to increase over the next few months.’’

‘‘Our calculations suggest that the crisis in this region could result in up to 300,000 ‘excess deaths’ during the next six months,’’ he said. ‘‘This is a conservative estimate.’’

The increased death toll would likely result mainly from diseases that infect people whose resistance drops because they are malnourished, he said.

‘‘We’re seeing a continuing rise in tuberculosis and acute chest infections,’’ Nabarro said.

Health workers have found increased mortality rates in all population groups, he said. Women have begun showing an increased risk of dying as a result of problems during pregnancy.

Nils Kastberg of Unicef said many of those at risk are children under the age of five.

Nabarro said health problems have worsened in part because of a reduction in the number of medical workers. Some of them left the region because of difficult working conditions. The number also has declined because they have been infected by the Aids virus that is prevalent in the region, he said.