Compiled and edited by Martin Flynn
by HIV will be hardest hit by the food shortage,"
said WFP's Richard Ragan.
Street children and orphans whose parents have died of Aids will be targeted
in the food relief programme.
Peasant farmers and those in remote areas have been hardest hit by persistent
drought, the BBC report, but political infighting is making the situation
worse in some countries.
Some governments in the region are concerned about cross-contamination
from genetically modified maize donations from the USA affecting their
own agricultural exports to the EU.
Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, President Mugabe's government has been accused
of denying food to supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) in rural Matabeleland.
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'Fortress Europe' row clouds Aids Conference
The Barcelona World Aids Conference was embroiled in a
huge row even before it began. Many delegates from developing countries
found that getting Spanish visas was nearly impossible.
African citizens living in the UK were among those who queued all night
for the restricted number of visas available.
Positive Futures' admin officer Moono Nyambe told Positive
Nation: "I'm a Zambian citizen. I discovered that the Spanish Embassy
in London only processes 70 visa applications a day and people queue up
all night for them. I arrived at 2.30am and found a friend who'd been
waiting since 1am."
That friend was Thandi Haruperi, Positive Nation's cover star from last
Thandi Haruperi: Had to sleep in the rain 'under cardboard', for her visa
September. She said: "For the first time in my life I had to sleep in the rain under cardboard, like a homeless person." Thandi was at first refused her visa. She added: "A sympathetic lady was told I
was attending the Aids conference and made an exception. She had to turn off her mike so her own officials wouldn't hear her." As she spoke, Thandi was preparing to spend a
