07 FEB 2012
Oxfam assists 12,000 people affected by the drought in Yunnan, China
Spring is here, and Oxfam is providing food assistance to more than 12,000 people in Yunnan who have been experiencing a severe drought since 2009.
Working alongside the local partner organisation, Disaster Relief and Donation Office of Yunnan Province, Oxfam is providing15 kg of rice for each resident of three townships in Yongsheng County: Dongfeng, Pianojiao and QinaThe project will assist more than 12,000 people through a food shortage.
Since 2009, about 36.5 million people across southwest China, including Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan, have been affected by drought, with economic loss estimated at 19 billion Yuan. Residents of Yongsheng, a county in northwest Yunnan, have faced extreme hardship: three consecutive years of drought have led to a loss or decrease of harvests, and a 69,835 people have been suffering a food shortage. Harvests are not expected to be healthy again until September 2012.
The Oxfam response in Yongsheng is part of a larger 7.5 million Yuan programme with about 100,000 people in 16 counties in Yunnan and Guizhou. A core of the response has been providing emergency food relief and a drinking water supply.
Oxfam Hong Kong will continue monitoring the situation in Yongsheng and in other locations, assessing people’s needs and preparing for any other necessary responses.