A massive famine continues to stalk many parts of southern Africa. As many as 14.4 million are threatened in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho. The United Nations now projects that this famine will continue into 2004.

Starvation has also threatened parts of eastern Africa -- Ethiopa and Eritrea. In all, the UN estimates that more than 26 million Africans are at risk of hunger or starvation because of this famine.

The crisis has resulted from a devastating combination of floods and droughts, exacerbated by political and economic unrest in some areas.

In Ethiopia, as many as 11 million people are facing severe food shortages.

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and the Lutheran World Federation have been active partners in relief operations in some regions of the country. They are seeking to ensure people's access to food and to minimize vulnerability to food insecurity by providing direct food aid (grain and other foods), the distribution of seed and farm tools, and restocking livestock (goats and oxen).

In Eritrea, a drought after four years of erratic rains is threatening the lives of nearly a third of the population. Of the 3.3 million Eritreans, 1.4 million are facing one of the worst food crises this small country has experienced.

Members of the ecumenical global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) are working closely with their local partners to distribute food and help with the restocking of livestock, water and sanitation, basic education and health care. The members have requested about 14,000 metric tons of food for 6 months to assist over 120,000 people in urgent need of food supplies.

The World Food Program says that in Zimbabwe, more than 6.7 million people, more than half the population, will need emeregency food aid in the coming months to avert mass starvation.

(The ELCA International Disaster Response has sent $70,000 to support efforts in Ethiopia; $50,000 for Zimbabwe through ACT; and $50,000 for Malawi through ACT.)