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05-04-2024
HARARE: President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday declared Zimbabwe’s drought a national disaster and said the country needed more than $2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger.
Mnangagwa’s statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El Nino global weather pattern triggers a humanitarian crisis in southern Africa.
More than 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe will go hungry this year, Mnangagwa told journalists at the state house in Harare, adding that 80% of the country had received poor rains.
“Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires in excess of $2 billion towards various interventions we envisage in our national response,” Mnangagwa said.
He said the government would prioritize winter cropping to boost reserves, and work with the private sector to import grains.
El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon associated with a disruption of wind patterns that means warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.
Most provinces in Zimbabwe have experienced crop failure since November, with hotter areas declaring grains such as maize a write-off.
Humanitarian agencies including the World Food Program, which fed 270,000 people between January and March in four districts, have described the hunger situation as “dire”, calling on donors to provide more aid.
The drought in southern Africa has reached crisis levels with Botswana and Angola to the west, and Mozambique and Madagascar to the east also facing hunger.
Earlier, Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster Wednesday over a devastating drought that’s sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the country’s president saying it needs $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.
The declaration was widely expected following similar actions by neighboring Zambia and Malawi, where drought linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has scorched crops, leaving millions of people in need of food assistance.
“Due to the El Nino-induced drought … more than 80% of our country received below normal rainfall,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a speech calling for international aid. The country’s top priority, he said, is “securing food for all Zimbabweans. No Zimbabwean must succumb to, or die from hunger.”
He appealed to United Nations agencies, local businesses and faith organizations to contribute towards humanitarian assistance.
El Nino, a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean every two to seven years, has varied effects on the world’s weather. In southern Africa, it typically causes below-average rainfall, but this year has seen the worst drought in decades. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
