UNITED NATIONS, June 12 (UPI) -- A report by two U.N. agencies says 410,000 people in Lesotho face food shortages due to the country's most severe drought in 30 years.
The report, issued Tuesday by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program, says the tiny African nation will suffer because of crop failure and high maize prices.
"All told, more than several million people in the region are at risk," said Kelly David, head of the southern Africa regional office of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A lack of rain caused low maize production levels, resulting in steep price increases of the food staple, adversely affecting people who buy their food and those who depend on it for employment.
According to the report, Lesotho, a nation of 1.9 million people, needs 36,700 tons of cereals and other foods to meet its minimum consumption needs.
According to the FAO and the WFP, the neighboring countries of Swaziland and Zimbabwe will also face food shortages. Assessments are under way in those two nations along with the sub-Saharan countries of Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
