Once again famine was a major issue in the region, affecting millions of people and increasing their vulnerability to disease and other hardships. At the beginning of the year, 25 million people were being affected, and this figure had jumped to 40 million by April (Harsch 2003a). In Southern Africa, much of the famine was attributed to the severe drought that hit the sub-region during the 2002–2003 rainy season. In the Horn of Africa (Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia), famine was mainly a result of drought, although in Ethiopia and Eritrea, war was also a contributory factor (Harsch 2003b). A total of 13.6 million people in the two countries faced immediate food shortages in early 2003 (UN 2003)