Lesotho is facing acute food shortages. It’s estimated about half a million people are facing hunger and malnutrition. This as the recent El-Niño-induced drought has led to two successive crop failures.
The Chinese Government is providing food to pre-school children – as part of a Forum of China Africa Cooperation project.
China will deliver 665 metric tons of food to the Early Childhood Learning Programme. The World Food Programme (WFP) fears that the number of affected people is likely to increase.
“Sadly, the number of food insecure people is expected to rise to 640 000 during the period July 2019 to June 2020. In such periods it is well documented that mothers and children suffer most. This is because lack of access to food leads to malnutrition, and malnutrition affects pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under two years in irreversible ways,” says Country Director WFP, Mary Njoroge.
The low incomes and high food prices mean that 41% of rural families are spending over half their income on food. This leads to low student enrollment in early childhood development learning centres.
The initiative will bring much relief to the lives of many vulnerable mothers, infants and toddlers.
