October 19, 2024 | 11:50 AM ET |
Millions of people across Southern Africa are going hungry due to a historic drought, risking a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe, the United Nations has warned.
Five nations—Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have declared a state of national calamity in recent months due to the drought’s devastating effects on livestock and food production.
The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations further emphasized the dire circumstances that Angola and Mozambique are facing.
According to the WFP, the situation is expected to worsen until the next harvest, anticipated in March or April next year. Tomson Phiri, the WFP spokesperson for southern Africa, described the scale of the crisis: “A historic drought — the worst food crisis yet — has devastated more than 27 million lives across the region. Some 21 million children are malnourished.”
The WFP is currently distributing food and running relief programmes; however, it has received only 20% of the $369 million needed to provide adequate support. Phiri emphasised the urgency of the situation, warning that immediate assistance is required to prevent the drought from escalating into a full-scale humanitarian disaster.
The drought has been primarily driven by the recurring El Niño weather phenomenon, which causes severe dry conditions in some regions and heavy rainfall in others.
The impact has been devastating, with Zambia seeing a 70% loss in harvests and Zimbabwe facing an 80% reduction, according to Lola Castro, WFP’s acting regional director for southern Africa. In addition to food shortages, the drought has also led to significant hydropower shortages, causing widespread electricity cuts.
In response to the scarcity of resources, Zimbabwe and Namibia have announced wildlife culls.
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