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           El Nino Drought Leaves 28 Million Southern Africans Hungry

   by Sebastian Mhofu

   The land is dry, as are the rivers in southern Africa, where crops are
   scarce and 28 million people are hungry. The children show more life
   than the adults during this El Nino-induced drought in Mudzi district
   about 250 kilometers east of Harare, one of the hardest hit areas in
   Zimbabwe.

   Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red
   Cross and Red Crescent Societies, went to southern Africa to assess the
   food insecurity situation.

   "What is touching is proud fathers and mothers, like me and you, who
   would care for themselves and their children now depending on either
   cash transfer programs or food handouts we are giving to them, and see
   their dignity eroded," Sy said of his visits to Malawi and Zimbabwe,
   the countries most devastated by the drought. "That is very touching.
   What is touching is to see children go to bed hungry. Children that may
   not go to school and a mother that has to listen to children crying and
   having no food to give to them. That is profoundly, profoundly touching
   and that is totally unacceptable.

   "We cannot describe enough how dire the situation is and that is not
   the most important thing. What is important is what is it that you are
   going to do about it? And that is what we are concentrating on right
   now."

   ''

   On Tuesday, Sy is expected to launch an appeal for $150 million to
   avert hunger in southern Africa.

   Sixty-year-old Mabel Nyamono of Mudzi is looking forward to an increase
   in funding in Zimbabwe.

   ''''

   ''"Here, there is real hunger," Nyamono said. "Most of the days, kids
   go to school on an empty stomach and may go for three or four days
   without a decent meal."

   Families get worried, she adds, when the Red Cross takes time before
   giving cash handouts. "The government might be trying," she said, "but
   it is not reaching everyone [who needs assistance]."

   In Mudzi district, the Zimbabwe Red Cross gives cash handouts of $40 a
   month to 1,222 families.

   For many other families, no assistance is given. Such is the case of
   61-year-old Virgilance Tsabora, who is not in the Red Cross or U.N.
   assistance programs. Tsabora looks after her 89-year-old mother, who
   cannot walk, talk, see or hear properly. Neither has a source of
   income.

   Tsabora says she depends on fellow villagers for help, but hopes the
   Red Cross's Sy can ease their struggle.

   It is the dire stories of people like Tsabora and her mother that need
   to be told at the World Humanitarian Summit next month in Istanbul,
   according to Sy. At that meeting, U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon and
   international aid groups will work to create a plan that builds
   resilience in countries in southern Africa and around the globe that
   are facing catastrophe.

   ''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/el-nino-drought-twenty-eight-million-
   southern-africa-hungry/3332648.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/el-nino-drought-twenty-eight-million-southern-africa-hungry/3332648.html