Bulawayo, October 23, 2002

"Parched and barren" is the way ACT Press Officer Rainer Lang describes Zimbabwe's southern Matebele Province, where a lingering drought has withered the crops on their stalks and turned the lowland region into a dustbowl.

Lang, who arrived in the province yesterday (October 22, 2002), says that villagers are reporting a general lack of food, with a real need for sugar, bread and cooking oil. Lang quotes Chosen Dube, who works for ACT* member Lutheran World Federation's Development Service (LWF/LDS), as saying that the chronic shortage of fuel in the country hampers food aid delivery. Dube told Lang that even if there is enough money, there is often no fuel to buy.

Lang reports that there is a general sense of despair in the region. Many factors are contributing to the emergency in Zimbabwe - amongst others, an economy in ruins and HIV/AIDS figures that are staggering. LDS, apart from delivering food aid, also helps build awareness of the disease. Lang quotes Dube as saying that the program had definitely had an impact, but perhaps not as big as needed. Lang says that most people he spoke to, say that they only see the crisis deepening.

Meanwhile, Ecumenical News International (ENI) reports from Harare that President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at charities and international aid agencies working in the country for "meddling with our national affairs", banning the United Kingdom-based Save the Children from distributing food aid in a critical district. The president also singled out the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), which his government accuses of backing opposition candidates in rural district council elections in the north-western district of Binga, where the opposition last week won 16 of 21 wards contested.

ACT* - Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working in the field of humanitarian relief.