The U.N. food agency says a sharp rise in the price of corn (maize) in southern Africa has left it without enough money to feed millions of people.
The World Food Program says it has a funding shortfall of $187 for feeding programs in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It says it plans to feed at least 8.5 million people through December, but says without more donations, only a fraction of those people will receive assistance.
The World Food Program says the cost of corn has risen in some areas of southern Africa by more than 50 percent over the last several months. The price is rising over fears the harvest will be not be as good as initially forecasted.
Some information for this report provided AFP and Reuters.