Tracking - Food Crisis in Zimbabwe, Gaza Blockade

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 16, 2008 @ 02:42PM PST

[Food shortages in Zimbabwe - Footage from VOA Video]

Food Crisis in Zimbabwe:

If you're looking for the world's next overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe, it's probably best to start in Zimbabwe.  The country faces a massive food shortage after two years of poor harvests and floods.  Meanwhile, inflation has reached 231 million percent, making it impossible for many poor Zimbabweans to buy food.

The WFP currently estimates that as many as 45% of the total population of 11.8 million is malnourished.  83% of the population now lives on less than $2 a day.

With the food crisis growing, the World Food Program (WFP) plans to provide food to 4 million people in November, double the number from October.

However, because of a serious funding shortfall, there is no food in the pipeline for January and February, when the food crisis will peak.

To try and extend existing stockpiles, WFP has already begun reducing food rations.  According to a WFP statement:

"These cuts will allow WFP to stretch its available resources as far as possible but they will leave greater numbers more malnourished and more susceptible to disease."

To make matters worse, the agreement between Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - a compromise meant to resolve the disputed March 2008 elections - is now in danger of unraveling, threatening to throw the country once again into political turmoil.

Gaza Blockade:

As of Friday, the UN suspended food distributions to 750,000 people in Gaza, after exhausting its supplies in the face of a recent Israeli blockade.   Israel sealed the border last week in response to rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas, and has so far refused to allow humantiarian supplies to enter Gaza.

As one UN spokesman explained: "Our warehouses are effectively empty."

According to John Ging, the Director General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA): "UNRWA has several trucks loaded with food waiting at the Israeli side of Gaza crossings, but they are not able to enter due to the closure."

The LA Times reported that UNRWA - which has been distributing food in Gaza for 60 years - has never before run out of supplies.