At least 1 million Zimbabweans facing hunger: UN

The United Nations food agency says more than a million Zimbabweans need food aid and is appealing for $42 million in donor funding.

The UN World Food Program said on Monday that families are already skipping meals during the "lean season" expected to end with the March harvest. It says the worst affected areas are in the driest parts of Zimbabwe and are expected to again face poor harvests.

In a statement issued in Harare, the agency says poor families, especially households with orphans and vulnerable children, can't afford much of the food that is available. Most of that food is imported.

Acute food shortages eased after Zimbabwe adopted the US dollar to end its world-record inflation in 2009, but local farm production continues to decline.