zimbabwe - 5 million humans face starvation

Problems in Zimbabwe are escalating under Mugabe's control - Millions of Zimbabweans are threatened with starvation after the widespread failure of the latest harvest brought on by the government's disastrous mishandling of land redistribution and food shortages in the shops caused by hyperinflation. The U.N stated hundreds of thousands of people require food aid immediately because they have harvested little or nothing in recent weeks. It has warned that up to 5 million will need assistance in the coming months. A third of the population is chronically malnourished.

Attempts to assist them are blocked by a ban on foreign aid agencies working in rural areas after President Robert Mugabe [a relative of the devil] said they were just fronts for "regime change" by Britain and the US. Aid workers say the first signs of looming famine are evident with significant population movements and children arriving at hospitals suffering from kwashiorkor (a form of malnutrition). Many families are reduced to one meal a day, with some living on fruit berries. According to the UN there has been a significant rise in the number of families fleeing to South Africa. Food availability has also been hit by hyperinflation which economists say runs above 10m%. The central bank is issuing a $100bn note today, the highest denomination to date but worth less than 10p - [source - guardian on-line] full story