The UN food agency has negotiated a humanitarian corridor to keep food aid flowing in Southern Africa, after many countries shut their borders to stop the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, an official said on Thursday.
Up to 45 million people in Southern Africa face hunger after a devastating drought and two cyclones in 2019, and there are growing fears the crisis could be compounded by the outbreak of the virus.
Lola Castro, World Food Programme director for Southern Africa, said SA had agreed to let vessels carrying food aid land on its shores and move it to countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia, which face food shortages.
Castro told reporters during a video conference that Africa’s most advanced economy, which has declared a 21-day lockdown, had agreed to “a sort of humanitarian corridor”, a move that would help the agency continue its work.
“At this moment we are actually maintaining our normal food distributions but maybe in the future, depending with the effect of the virus and effect on the food system, especially on the smallholder farmers ... maybe we will see an increase in prices and number of people who require food assistance,” she said.
More than $400m (R7.4m) was required to import food aid for the next three months in Southern Africa, which had received patchy rains this year, said Castro.
At the time of writing, Africa had registered more than 6,650 cases of coronavirus and more than 240 deaths.
The continent is already suffering a huge economic affect from lockdowns aiming to contain the virus and a sharp fall in global demand for commodities.
Daily lives have been upended in many African countries due to tough lockdowns that have affected swathes of populations that rely on informal trade for a living.
Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation regional director for Africa, said African governments had to balance the need for physical distancing measures with making sure families had food on the table.
“The potential economic affect is of great concern at the lowest socio-economic levels,” Moeti said.
Zimbabwe and the UN on Thursday made a joint appeal for $770m (R14bn) in humanitarian aid to help the country cope with a drought and the coronavirus crisis, as well as to fund its education and health sectors.
The government also launched a separate $2.2bn (R41bn) aid appeal from foreign and domestic donors.
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