The statement by Cabinet chambers said the 2010-11 report by the Namibia Vulnerability Assessment Committee highlighted five main hazards and shocks for the period. These are the increase in staple food prices in remote rural areas, livestock diseases, floods and droughts, as well as human-wildlife conflict.

"There is now considerable evidence and general agreement that adverse weather conditions combined with poverty induced vulnerability are the main causes of vulnerability in Namibia," Cabinet said in the Namibian report.

A total of 42 100 people will face "survival deficit", meaning that they won't be able to meet their minimum food requirements in 2010-11, Cabinet said.

A total of 33 493 of them come from the Caprivi lowland maize and cattle farming zone, while 8 607 poor people live in the Hardap and Karas regions in the southern freehold small-stock zone.

Government needs N$14,1 million to address their plight in the short term, Cabinet said.
A total of 106 297 people will suffer from a "livelihood protection deficit" and won't be able to live in a sustainable way, meaning they won't be able to afford education, health services, seeds, fertilizer or ploughing their fields.

These people live in the Caprivi lowland maize and cattle livelihood zone, the southern freehold small-stock zone, the southern communal small-stock zone, as well as the Omaheke and the Otjozondjupa cattle-ranching zones. To help them in the short term, Government needs N$45 million.

Cabinet said 2 440 tonnes of maize meal was needed for the survival threshold, while 7 877 tonnes was necessary to protect the livelihood threshold.

In the short term, Cabinet approved three measures to help the poor.

Those in the Caprivi, Kavango, Hardap and Karas regions who cannot work will receive free food handouts. Poor people in the Caprivi, parts of the Kavango, Hardap, Karas, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions who can work will get cash and food for work.

As a third measure, Cabinet decided that government services should be planned and co-ordinated more effectively in the rural areas. Cabinet also approved various measures in the medium to long term.

At their sitting at the end of August Cabinet also instructed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to "clearly specify the targeted beneficiaries" and to assess the quality of the maize meal stock to be procured from the Kavango for the food-relief programme.

The OPM must also extend the food relief to informal settlements in urban areas, Cabinet decided.