from MARCUS MUSHONGA in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
HARARE, (CAJ News) – HIGH food prices, economic challenges, as well as cholera and Mpox outbreaks, are adding to the woes in Southern Africa, where some 27 million people are food insecure.
A historic El Niño-induced drought and above-average temperatures in early 2024 led to losses in crop harvests across the region.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that compared to the previous year, maize production fell by 20 percent in South Africa, 54 percent in Zambia and 72 percent in Zimbabwe.
WFP reports that affected communities have depleted their meagre food reserves with months remaining before the next opportunity for harvest in April 2025.
“In addition to harvest failures, El Niño has brought about loss of livestock and deteriorating malnutrition, water, sanitation, and health conditions,” WFP stated.
National drought disasters have been declared in Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Angola and Mozambique are also severely affected, with around 1,8 million people in Angola and 3,3 million people in Mozambique estimated to be food insecure.
The situation in Mozambique is exacerbated by the Islamist insurgency in the north.
The El drought has also undermined hydroelectric power generation Lake Kariba, on which Zambia and Zimbabwe are more than 80 percent reliant.
WFP requires US$369 million to provide food and cash assistance to over 6,5 million people across Southern Africa up to March 2025.
– CAJ News