The U.N. has warned Southern Africa could become a “full-scale human catastrophe,” while the region faces a severe drought.
The United Nations‘ World Food Program (WFP) gave the warning on Tuesday, adding that over 27 million people are affected, the worst hunger crisis in the region in decades.
Five nations—Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have declared national disasters while the drought has ravaged crops and left millions struggling to survive.
The WFP estimates that 21 million children across the region are now malnourished, while families dependent on small-scale, rain-fed agriculture face failed harvests and severe food shortages.
Villagers pump water at a borehole in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The United Nations’ food agency says months of drought in southern Africa, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region’s worst hunger crisis in decades.
Aaron Ufumeli/AP
“This is the worst food crisis in southern Africa in decades,” WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri said. “Crops have failed, livestock have died, and children are lucky to get one meal a day.”
The drought, which was predicted last year, has been exacerbated by rising global temperatures tied to climate change.
Millions of people rely on farming to feed their families and earn a living, but below-average rainfall and extreme heat have wiped out crops.
“October in southern Africa marks the start of the lean season, and each month is expected to be worse than the previous one until harvests next year in March and April,” said Phiri.
In addition to the five countries that have declared emergencies, Angola and Mozambique are also suffering from the drought’s effects.
Phiri said that the WFP requires $369 million for immediate aid but has only received a fifth of that amount so far.
The WFP has begun helping with food assistance and other “critical support” on the request of various governments in the region, he said.
Global humanitarian need has reached critical levels, with aid also needed in conflict-ridden regions including Gaza and Sudan.
This shortage of funds could hinder efforts to provide much-needed food assistance in southern Africa.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said the drought the most severe in 100 years.
The El Niño phenomenon, which warms parts of the central Pacific and disrupts weather patterns, has been a significant factor in the crisis, further intensified by climate change.
Zambia and Zimbabwe are experiencing prolonged power blackouts due to reduced water levels at the Kariba Dam, which supplies hydroelectric power to both countries.
In Namibia and Zimbabwe, authorities have resorted to killing wildlife, including elephants, to provide meat for starving populations.
Scientists say sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to climate change because of a high dependency on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
