Credit: Reuters
Namibia, sub-Saharan Africa's driest country, is suffering its
worst drought in a generation, with more than 100,000 children at risk of
malnutrition, the United Nations said on Thursday.
President Hifkepunye
Pohamba declared a national emergency in the sparsely populated southern
African nation after the failure of crops in May, and earmarked $20 million of
relief for the worst-hit households.
Many farmers are now
being forced to sell cattle for which there is no grazing, while cow-herds from
Angola are reported to have crossed the border in search of food, fuelling
tribal tensions as competition for scarce pastures intensifies.
"The shortages of
food and water are increasing the immediate threat of disease and
malnutrition," said Micaela Marques De Sousa, the Namibia representative
of UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's agency.
"But anecdotal
reports already indicate children are dropping out of school, a clear sign of
stress and vulnerability in families."
Namibia, which won
independence from neighbouring South Africa in 1990, classifies as a
middle-income country although a quarter of its 2 million people live in
poverty.
While agriculture
accounts for 5 percent of the economy, a third of Namibians are dependent on
some form of subsistence farming.
