About 2.1 million Mozambicans face prospect of hunger

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About 2.1 million Mozambicans face prospect of hunger

1:01 CAT | 06 Mar 2017

Lusa (File photo)

About 2.1 million Mozambicans face the prospect of hunger, an increase of 700,000 compared to November, “in the face of declining stocks and while waiting for the next harvest” in April, according to the United Nations.

“Harvesting starts at the end of March and in April, and as the months to the next harvest pass by, last harvest stocks are declining and the market is also more difficult for purchasers. Hence the increase in the number of people affected,” World Food Program (WFP) representative in Mozambique Karin Manente told Lusa.

Last year, Mozambique was one of the countries worst affected by the drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, and international organizations were by mid-2016 already predicting a food crisis between November of last year and April.

According to Manente, in November the number of people at risk of hunger amounted to 1.4 million, but after a reassessment carried out by the government and partners including the WFP, “the estimate increased to 2.1 million”.

She said that the majority of people facing acute food insecurity are in the south of the country, in Gaza, Inhambane and northern Maputo province – and in the centre, especially in Tete, Sofala and Manica provinces.

Source: Lusa