Around 68 million people, or 17% of the total population, across the Southern African region are suffering from an El Niño-induced drought and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to the head of the regional bloc SADC.
The drought, which began in early 2024, has devastated crops and caused widespread food shortages and severely impacted the regional economies, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi told the leaders from the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) who gathered in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, over the weekend. The region saw its driest February in 100 years, receiving only 20% of the usual rainfall and with temperatures also rising several degrees above average, according to the United Nations.
Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia are among the countries in Southern Africa hit hardest by this natural disaster that has caused hunger to soar, while Lesotho and Namibia are also calling for humanitarian support as the food emergency worsens. This has prompted the World Food Programme (WPP) to warn of alarming food insecurity rates as the Southern African region might be experiencing its driest conditions recorded in decades. To combat the effects of the drought, last May, SADC appealed for a $5.5 billion humanitarian assistance, but “the amount mobilized so far is unfortunately below the required levels,” the outgoing SADC Chair, President João Lourenço of Angola, stated, urging for intensified regional and international support.