|PIC1|Tearfund continues to help in the fight against poverty and famine in Africa as the Christian humanitarian agency warns that lack of cash is seriously hampering vital famine-relief projects.

In Malawi, the number of people needing food aid was half a million more than expected, with around 5.2 million people left desperate for basic sustenance following a steep rise in the price of maize.

Tearfund reported that around 60 per cent of those needing food aid, or around 3.2 million, in the country will be reached after Tearfund partner, the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM), was able to provide vital seeds thanks to the initial response of Christians in the UK and Ireland.

Despite the welcome arrival of much-needed rains in most parts of Malawi, Franklin Yonamu of the EAM warned that the crisis is far from solved: “Considering that maize takes three to four months to mature, it is rather early to predict that people will have a harvest in April. However, the rainfall pattern is giving hope to many that they will harvest enough food in April.”

Floods in the south of the country have also had a detrimental effect on the seed distribution work with many crops washed away, homes damaged and livestock killed.

|TOP|Tearfund partners, Eagles Relief and EAM, are helping those affected by the flood in Chikwawa with additional seed soon to be distributed to those who lost crops at the end of last month.

Tearfund reported, however, that it has not been able to provide support to one partner in Zambia which proposed food packs for those with HIV and AID due to insufficient funding.

“Despite the scale and urgency of the crisis, support for the Tearfund emergency appeal has not yet reached the level’s hoped for and needed,” said Tearfund.

It added: “Prayer and ongoing support for the appeal are vital.”

In Zimbabwe Tearfund is working for a network of local churches to distribute food to orphans and vulnerable children across the country, despite ongoing political instability.

The organisation reported that there is enough food to ensure 36,000 children receive meals for the next six months.

One proposal recently submitted by a second Tearfund partner to feed people affected by the government’s ‘Operation Restore Order’, but the charity admitted it has not yet been able to accumulate the necessary level of funds to approve the proposal.

Tearfund is calling for donations to its Southern Africa emergency appeal as well as prayer support.

To find out more information and support the work of Tearfund in Africa, go to www.tearfund.org