US gives US$3 million for Mozambique drought victims

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US gives US$3 million for Mozambique drought victims

8:40 CAT | 10 Jun 2016

The US is to donate more than US$3 million (EUR2.6 million) in aid to buy food for the 130,000 people affected by drought in Mozambique, according to a statement from the US embassy in Maputo .

The amount, channelled through the USAID Food for Peace program with the support of the World Food Programme, will go to the purchase of beans and sorghum and be made available to victims of the drought in the south and centre of the country.

According to the statement received by Lusa, in the last three years, the US Government has disbursed more than US$9 million (EUR7.9 million) on assistance for Mozambicans affected by natural disasters.

The drought affecting the provinces of central and southern Mozambique wiped out much of the first 2016 growing season, with only 10 percent of farmers harvesting any crops, according to official figures,

Mozambique is regularly affected by floods because of its location in the river basins of most of Southern Africa, but the south of the country has also been hit by the prolonged drought which this year struck provinces in the centre of the country.

The drought is affecting several other southern African countries, leading Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe to declare a state of emergency due to lack of food.

The drought, which has lasted for more than a year, has also affected the largest economy in the region, with South Africa declaring the drought the worst in a hundred years.

Source: Lusa