In 2002 Southern Africa experienced one of the worst food shortages in the region’s history. An estimated 13 million people did not have enough to eat while many faced starvation. Oxfam Australia worked with other Oxfam’s to bring food to some of the most vulnerable people, and worked on longer-term solutions. In Malawi, Oxfam supported food distribution, well deepening and repairing projects, helped to set up systems to monitor community nutrition levels and projects to pay people in cash or food to build irrigation systems and dams. Photo shows maize, the staple diet in Malawi and Africa.