Food prices spike beyond reach of average Zimbabwean family, UN says

As drought, deaths from HIV/AIDS and a general decline decimate the Zimbabwean economy, the prices of basic foods have risen by nearly half again in the last month, putting them out of the average family's reach, the United Nations warned today.

This spike in the prices of maize, sugar and flour comes during a period between harvests, when UN agencies expect families to be most in need of food aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Agricultural production is hampered by an estimated 43 per cent HIV prevalence rate among farm workers that is killing the labour force or leaving people too sick to work. Areas under crops declined by 39 per cent in 2003, while yields dropped by almost 60 per cent.

With foreign currency to buy spare parts and purification chemicals in short supply, urban water and sewerage systems have been declining rapidly, OCHA said. This lack of safe water heightens the risk of disease.

In addition, rural water supplies are in critical condition. "There have already been serious cholera outbreaks in the Zambezi Valley, one of the poorest regions of Zimbabwe.