Rédaction Africa Links 24 with The Observer
Published on 2024-03-25 15:17:49
Malawi has recently declared a state of disaster due to drought in 23 out of its 28 districts, with the president stating that the country urgently needs over $200 million in humanitarian assistance. This comes shortly after neighboring Zambia also made a plea for help. The severe dry spell in the region has been linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, impacting the food supply in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has also experienced significant crop losses and is contemplating a similar declaration, highlighting concerns raised by the UN World Food Program regarding an impending hunger crisis in southern Africa due to El Niño’s effects. The WFP reported that nearly 50 million people in southern and central Africa were already facing food insecurity prior to the onset of one of the driest periods in decades. USAID further projected that over 20 million people in southern Africa would require urgent food aid in early 2024, partially as a result of El Niño.
According to the WFP’s seasonal monitor, last month was the driest February in 40 years for Zambia and Zimbabwe, with Malawi, Mozambique, and parts of Angola experiencing severe rainfall deficits. The drought has greatly impacted the region, where millions rely on locally grown food for sustenance, particularly the staple crop of corn. El Niño, a natural weather phenomenon involving Pacific Ocean warming, has been identified as a contributing factor to the below-average rainfall in southern Africa. Some scientists argue that climate change is intensifying the strength and impact of El Niños.
The 2015-2016 El Niño brought a severe drought to southern Africa, described as the worst in 35 years by the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs. In addition to human suffering, conservation officials in Zimbabwe reported the deaths of at least 100 elephants in a national park due to dried-up waterholes during the drought.
Prior to Malawi and Zambia declaring a state of disaster, the WFP and USAID had already initiated a program to assist 2.7 million people facing food shortages in rural Zimbabwe, representing almost 20 percent of the country’s population. Oxfam reported that over 6 million people in Zambia were grappling with acute food shortages and malnutrition, with the next crop season still a year away.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera conducted an assessment of the drought crisis in his country, revealing that around 44 percent of the corn crop had failed or been affected, directly impacting 2 million households. He called for approximately 600,000 metric tons of food aid and made an appeal to the international community for assistance.
In recent years, Malawi has been struck by a series of extreme weather events, showcasing how the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions. The country suffered significant casualties from Cyclone Freddy last year, one of several powerful cyclones to hit southern Africa in the past five years.
Moreover, tropical storms and floods in early 2022 led to Malawi’s worst cholera outbreak, resulting in over 1,200 deaths over several months. Zambia is also grappling with a major cholera epidemic at present. The dire situation underscored the urgent need for international assistance to mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters in the region.
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