James Morris, UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, was speaking following a trip to Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Namibia, where he met with government officials, donor representatives and aid agencies.
Morris blamed Aids, food insecurity and a weakened capacity for governance on the crisis, saying that the numbers of trained professionals that were dying of the Aids virus was creating a "human resources vacuum" across the region.
"It's a tragedy of unrivalled proportions that is destroying the ability of countries to effectively deal with the pandemic and food insecurity," said Morris, who is also executive director of the UN World Food Programme.
According to UN figures, southern Africa has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world, with the number of orphans in the region expected to exceed 20-million by 2010.
Morris, special envoy since July 2002, said the capacity of most governments in the region to improve the situation was "modest" at best, and that it would be a challenge to ensure outside funds benefit the people they were intended for.
US-born Morris also expressed disappointment at being unable to visit Zimbabwe. A request to do so had been turned down by Zimbabwe authorities because of "scheduling difficulties". – Sapa-DPA.
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