The statement by James T. Morris to the UN Security Council on "Double Standards: Africa and the War on Iraq" (http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?issuedate=2003-04-10&admin=1) is most welcome. Since the Iraq crisis gathered momentum a few months ago culminating in the war on Iraq, the war on hunger and starvation in Africa and indeed other burning issues pertaining to the continent have been relegated to the background.

While Mr. Morris deserves to be commended for drawing attention to the protracted food crisis in Africa and to the world's double standard on this matter, his emphasis on food aid as the panacea for this problem appears to be misplaced. What Africa needs as a long-term solution to the problem is food security, not perpetual dependence on food aid. Indeed, food aid, driven largely by export subsidies and other agricultural trade distorting policies of the developed countries, has tended to undermine food security in Africa by damaging food production and the capacity of the countries in the continent to respond adequately to food crises.

Mr. Morris refers in his statement to the growing acceptance of GM food in Southern Africa. The acceptance of this type of food by the starving and famine-struck people in the region, when its impact on health and environment is yet to be fully established, only demonstrates the danger of Africa's over dependence on food aid.