Millions Hungry as Southern Africa Suffers from Severe Drought

In rural Zimbabwe, a severe drought has left 2.7 million people threatened with hunger, leading to food aid distributions funded by the United States government and the United Nations’ World Food Programme. The drought, affecting Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, and Madagascar, is part of a vicious weather cycle that has seen extreme weather patterns alternating between too much rain and not enough. This crisis is exacerbated by the naturally occurring climate phenomenon El Niño, which has brought below-average rainfall to southern Africa, resulting in failed harvests and food shortages. The situation is worsened by a global hunger crisis and a decrease in humanitarian funding from governments.

The impact of the drought is severe in areas like Mangwe, where the typically arid conditions have become unbearable. People who rely on growing drought-resistant grains like sorghum and pearl millet for sustenance have seen their crops destroyed, leaving many families without food. Traditional leader Joseph Nleya describes the desperate conditions, with dry riverbeds and water sources running out, forcing people to resort to illegal means to find food. With the lean months typically in the early part of the year when households run short waiting for the new harvest, there is little hope for replenishment this year, and millions in Zimbabwe and neighboring countries face food insecurity well into 2025.

The situation in southern Africa has been described as a region dealing with overlapping crises of extreme weather, with eastern and southern Africa experiencing a mix of storms, floods, heat, and drought over the past year. The United Nations Children’s Fund has reported that an estimated 9 million people in Malawi and over 6 million people in Zambia, including a significant number of children, are impacted by the drought. This region is expected to face more frequent extreme weather events in the years to come, posing a significant challenge to vulnerable populations. The ongoing drought crisis has led to calls for increased humanitarian assistance, with governments in Zambia and Malawi seeking support to address the food insecurity affecting millions of people.

As aid agencies and governments respond to the growing crisis, the need for food relief in southern Africa is estimated to be high, with USAID’s Famine Early Warning System predicting that 20 million people may require assistance in the first few months of 2024. However, limited resources and a decrease in humanitarian funding from governments present challenges to delivering the necessary aid to those in need. In Zimbabwe, as food aid distributions come to an end, people like Zanyiwe Ncube are left calculating how long the food supplies will last, fearing that her youngest child may suffer from malnutrition before his first birthday. The situation in rural Zimbabwe and across southern Africa remains dire, with millions facing food insecurity and a struggle to access the necessary resources to survive the ongoing drought crisis.