UN agency’s World Food Programme (WFP) says it needs at least $400 million to feed millions of persons affected by extreme weather conditions in Southern Africa which has brought about drought that has plunged parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi into hunger.
WFP told Reuters on Wednesday that the funding is needed urgently for six months to support drought relief programme in the affected countries
The region witness a drastic shortfall in harvest as result of drought induced by El Niño which has affected at least 4.8 million people.
El Niño is a weather condition that disrupts wind patterns and warms the temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean. It can affect crop yields by reducing rain levels.
“It’s fair to say this will probably be the biggest El Niño response we have ever done in Southern Africa,” WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri said.
According to Phiri, nearly 70% of the Southern African population that relies on rain-fed agriculture had their harvests “wiped out” by lack of rains.
He said the WFP, which also provides cash disbursement to hungry communities, is hoping to buy grain from outside the region.
In August last year WFP spent $14 million to support communities in Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, Phiri said.
Successive droughts in the region have caused dwindling grain stocks, forcing affected countries like Zimbabwe to obtain grain abroad.
A group of private millers in Zimbabwe are planning to import 1.4 million metric tonnes of maize from Brazil, Argentina and other countries to help address hunger.
In Zimbabwe Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the government will receive a $32 million insurance payout for drought relief from the African Union Climate Agency.
Ncube said part of the funding will be used as cash transfers for vulnerable communities with some going to humanitarian agencies to provide support for procuring food.
