Swaziland's annual maize harvest in 2009 was estimated at 70,000 tons, which was slightly more than the previous year. However, Swaziland still needs to import around 90,000 tons during the current consumption year (April 2009 - March 2010) to fill the national cereal gap.
Preliminary results from the Swaziland Vulnerability Assessment Committee survey indicate that around 260,000 people could face a food deficit in the pre-harvest months, especially as high food prices are continuing to erode food access for the poorest and most vulnerable groups.
Maize production in Swaziland has been declining steadily for the past decade. Up until 2000, Swaziland was routinely harvesting over 100,000 tons of maize but since then the average has dropped to around 70,000 tons. Factors contributing to this decline include erratic weather, high fuel and input costs, the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS and a decline in the use of improved agricultural practices and inputs.
The HIV prevalence rate is the highest in the world. Currently 39.2 percent of pregnant women attending antenatal care centres are HIV positive, while Swaziland ’s first Demographic Health Survey (released end of June 2007) indicates that 26 percent of the population aged between 15 and 49 years are HIV positive. The impact of HIV/AIDS has been particularly hard on Swazi children.
There are over 80,000 orphans in the country. Children head 15 percent of total households in the country. Abject poverty combined with the high HIV prevalence rate contribute to Swaziland ’s weak economic performance and also impact negatively on food security.
Around 69 percent of Swaziland ’s 1 million people live below the poverty line, subsisting on US$0.60 a day. Life expectancy is the lowest in the world at 32.5 years.
WFP has been providing support to vulnerable, food-insecure people in Swaziland since 2002 to help alleviate the impact of HIV/AIDS, drought and poverty. In May 2008, WFP began implementing a three-year, country-specific Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO 10602.0).
The new PRRO is intended to contribute towards improved food security, livelihood and productive capacity for the most vulnerable households impacted by HIV/AIDS, poverty and natural disasters. In addition, various activities will help to build the government’s capacity to manage food assistance interventions.
Under the PRRO, an average of 201,000 beneficiaries will be targeted each year, with relief food only provided during the lean season.
WFP’s recovery activities are targeted at orphans and vulnerable children in Neighbourhood Care Points, chronically ill people on anti-retroviral (ART) and tuberculosis treatment, mother and child health and nutrition programmes, households whose breadwinner is on ART as well as food for work.
As part of the food-for-work programme, food-insecure families provide at least one volunteer for WFP-supported community projects or training programmes. WFP provides the volunteers with a monthly take-home ration of maize meal, pulses, vegetable oil and corn-soya blend as compensation for working on community development projects. They learn practical life skills to help them improve their livelihoods and build community assets, such as earth dams for farming.
WFP’s response is determined by food security and vulnerability assessments such as Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission and the annual national vulnerability assessments conducted by the Swazi VAC. It also conducts periodical Community and Household Surveillance exercises to determine the impact of WFP food assistance.
WFP support compliments the activities undertaken by government, community and development partners to improve the livelihoods and food security of vulnerable people in the fields of health, agriculture and education. WFP Swaziland has nine main co-operating Partners: World Vision, Africa Co-operative Action Trust, Save the Children, Lutheran Development Services, Conserve Swaziland, Swaziland Farmers Development Foundation, Adventist Development and Relief Organization and AMICAAL.
Read more on WFP Swaziland Operations Brief of November 2009.
Swaziland, with a population of 930,000 on 17,000 km3 faces a crisis arising from the combined effects of HIV, poverty, recurrent drought and weakened capacity to deliver basic social services. About 26 percent of the adult population is HIV-infected and 80,000 children are orphaned, mainly due to AIDS. An estimated 48 percent of the population lives at or below the poverty line. Life expectancy, at 40.9 years, is the second-lowest in the world.
