Zimbabwe has declared a national disaster over drought caused by climate change, known as El Niño, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa said $2 billion in aid was needed to help millions of people suffering from hunger.
A severe drought is wreaking havoc across southern Africa.
“Zimbabweans should not collapse or die of hunger,” Mnangagwa told a news conference. “Therefore, I hereby declare a nationwide state of disaster due to El Niño drought.”
He warned that due to lack of rain this year, more than 2.7 million people will not have enough food to put on the table. He said this season’s grain harvest is expected to yield just over half of the grain needed to feed the nation.
The naturally occurring Niño climate pattern that emerged in mid-2023 typically increases global temperatures for the next year. Currently, fires are burning all over the world and record-breaking heat continues.
Zimbabwe becomes the third country in southern Africa to declare drought a national disaster, after Malawi and Zambia. This measure will give the government access to more resources to deal with the crisis.
The drought has also affected electricity production, as Zimbabwe is highly dependent on hydropower.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the recent El Niño event was one of the fifth strongest on record, and its effects will continue as heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases is further accelerated. Dew.
WMO said El Niño peaked in December, but above-normal temperatures will continue over almost all land areas until May.
The Food and Agriculture Organization said key food producing regions in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe received only 80% of average rainfall during the austral summer from mid-November to February, increasing the risk of food insecurity. he emphasized.
Rainfall in January and February was the lowest in 40 years, according to the United Nations.
Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator for Zimbabwe, said efforts were underway to mobilize resources and finalize a response plan. “This crisis has far-reaching implications across many sectors,” Caron said.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the drought has forced many people to use unsafe water sources, exacerbating cholera outbreaks already plaguing southern African countries.
El Niño is also predicted to bring heavy rains and flooding in the coming months, increasing the risk of malaria and other diseases.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean flour millers are importing genetically modified maize from South Africa because they are unable to source grain from traditional suppliers in Zambia and Malawi.
But Tafadzwa Mabaudi, a climate and agriculture expert at South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the country also has limited surplus to export to neighboring countries.
“Importing maize would also mean higher food prices, impacting food security for poor people who were already struggling to access healthy food,” he told AFP. .
Last month, Zimbabwean small-scale farmers in the affected areas told AFP they were already struggling to feed their families as crops failed and food prices soared.
