June 16, 2002

*Up to 13m people face starvation in southern Africa: UN*

The United Nations says up to 13 million people across southern Africa are now at risk of starvation.

The UN is holding emergency talks in Johannesburg to address the disaster.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says southern Africa is facing a crisis of enormous dimensions.

The WFP is already feeding more than 4.6 million in the region but says the situation is getting worse by the day.

Crops have failed in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia and Mozambique.

The UN’s assistant emergency relief coordinator, Ross Mountain, says the number of people in need is increasing.

“We are confronted now with 13 million people who are going to be at risk over the next nine to 10 months,” Mr Mountain said.

The UN, aid groups and donors are meeting in Johannesburg to discuss how to deal with the disaster.