UN seeks $2.5m for Malawi

GENEVA - The United Nations children’s fund (Unicef) said today it needs 2.5 million dollars to help hundreds of thousands of women and children hit by severe floods in Malawi.

Some 200,000 women and children under five will be in need of humanitarian assistance this year as food insecurity combines with the risk of disease and underlying poverty, Unicef said.

"Over one million people are in risk of food insecurity and floods up until the next harvest in April 2008 and consequently women and children under five will become more exposed to malnutrition and infections, as well as to abuse and exploitation," the agency said in a statement.

Cholera is a major risk, with 434 cases and five deaths reported so far since November, it noted.

Unicef will also provide assistance to tackle malnutrition, poor sanitation, education, child protection and HIV/Aids issues, it said.

Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding across a huge swathe of southern Africa, with at least 70,000 people affected in neighbouring Mozambique.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said that 37,000 hectares of arable land has been lost, and 30,000 people have been evacuated to established resettlement centres.

More rain is expected over the coming week and the water level in the Zambezi river is set to rise further, Ocha spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told journalists.

Mozambique has long been prone to flooding, with 700 people killed when torrential rains swept through the country in 2001 and 2002, whilst it was still undergoing reconstruction after decades of civil war.