Global crisis may worsen Africa's hunger

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The global financial crisis could hamper efforts to alleviate hunger in Africa, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa said on Friday.

Parts of the continent have been hit by drought and Africa has also felt the effects of rising world food and fuel prices.

"I think this global financial challenge could impact our ability to deal with the food crisis ... and whether we can put measures in place to alleviate the current suffering," said Abdoulie Janneh, executive secretary of the ECA.

Many African countries were on a World Bank list released on Thursday of 28 countries facing financial strains due to high food and fuel costs and from the credit crisis. International aid agency Oxfam said on Thursday that 13.5 million people needed assistance in Ethiopia alone.

Janneh appealed to the international community to continue providing aid to the world's poorest continent.

"We hope our international partners will realise what a critical juncture this is for us. This is not the time to focus less attention on Africa," he said.

"But Africa is making progress and foreign aid is only part of that. If there have to be cuts, it is a storm we will weather."

Financial experts say that while Africa is relatively insulated from the global credit crisis -- as many African banks do not offer credit -- there could well be a negative effect on foreign direct investment, remittances and aid flows.

The ECA says Africa's economies grew at an average 5.8 percent in 2007 and project growth of 6.2 percent this year.

"Africa is growing at a reasonable pace. It is developing," Janneh said. "We hope this crisis won't dampen that."

(Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura)