Japan mulls giving $30 mil. in food aid to Africa

Japan Policy & Politics, August 19, 2002

TOKYO, Aug. 16 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is poised to pledge about $30 million in emergency aid to countries in southern Africa in the wake of the region's worsening food crisis, a major Japanese daily reported Friday.

Koizumi intends to announce the assistance measure during the Aug. 26-Sept. 4 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

Six nations in the region -- Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe -- are facing the most serious food shortages, the paper quoted the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) as saying.

Japan's latest move comes after the United Nations called on the international community to donate $610 million in food aid per year, the paper said. The aid will be mainly handed over to the WFP.

Japan's food aid will be part of measures Tokyo intends to compile as part of the so-called Koizumi initiative, to be timed at the Johannesburg summit, the paper said.

Japan has prioritized assistance to southern Africa in light of its continuous humanitarian support for the region.

About 13 million people are starving in the region this year due to poor harvests caused by droughts or floods, and low agricultural production due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other reasons, the paper quoted the WFP as saying.

The environmental summit will gather representatives from governments, nongovermental organizations, businesses and other groups to discuss wide-ranging issues, including food security, health and energy.