Southern Africa is currently grappling with its worst hunger crisis in decades, largely caused by months of drought triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon. According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), more than 27 million people in the region are affected, with the situation expected to worsen as the lean season progresses.
Countries like Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have declared national disasters due to the severity of the drought and the widespread hunger it has caused. The WFP warns that the situation is on the brink of becoming a “full-scale human catastrophe,” with 21 million children now malnourished as crops fail and food supplies dwindle.
mall-scale farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture have been hit hardest. The drought, exacerbated by rising temperatures due to climate change, has led to crop failure and livestock deaths across the region. The drought’s impact has spread beyond these five countries, with Angola and Mozambique also severely affected, highlighting the regional scope of the crisis.
WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri noted that the upcoming months will bring increasing hardship, with food prices rising sharply and many families struggling to access even one meal per day. The WFP has begun providing food assistance, but they urgently need $369 million to continue these efforts, with only a fraction of that funding currently available.
This crisis comes at a time when global humanitarian needs are also soaring, with other emergencies in Gaza, Sudan, and other parts of the world competing for resources. As Phiri pointed out, the southern African drought could become one of the most severe disasters in recent history if immediate international support is not mobilized.
In some areas, the crisis has forced extreme measures. Zimbabwe and Namibia have resorted to culling wildlife, including elephants, to provide meat for hungry populations. Meanwhile, Zambia’s reliance on hydroelectric power has been severely impacted, leading to widespread blackouts due to low water levels in the Kariba Dam.
The crisis is a stark reminder of how vulnerable sub-Saharan Africa remains to climate change, with millions of livelihoods at risk due to the region’s dependence on natural resources and rain-fed agriculture. Without urgent action, the situation could spiral into a disaster of unprecedented proportions.
