United Nations officials have appealed for international support to help Zimbabwe cope with the humanitarian impact of a historic drought that has left 7.6 million people at risk of acute hunger. More than half of the harvest has been destroyed due to a drought caused by the warming El Niño episode in 2023-2024.
Shifting rainfall patterns and long dry spells during the critical planting season have left much of the Southern African region with inadequate rainfall and above-average temperatures. The drought has hit Zimbabwe's economy hard, forcing the government to lower growth forecasts.
According to the latest estimates, 5.9 million people in rural areas and 1.7 million people in urban areas may face acute hunger during the coming lean season and until the next harvest in April 2025. Zimbabwe is also facing critical water shortages, and more than 22 percent of school-age children are out of school due to the economic and social impact of the drought.
"It's tragic. Families have harvested nothing at all, and their food stocks are empty," said Valerie Guarneri, the Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), in a statement on Friday.
“Families are now making survival decisions as the situation continues to worsen. During the peak of the lean season between January and March next year, and we are in a race against time to provide assistance.”
Guarnieri joined Reena Ghelani, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Climate Crisis Coordinator for El Niño and La Niña, and Edward Kallon, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Zimbabwe, in calling for urgent assistance as they concluded a week-long drought assessment mission to the country.
UN agencies and partner organizations are supporting the government's efforts to assist affected communities and families and build long-term resilience, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is helping to coordinate the humanitarian response.
During their week-long mission, the delegation met with senior government officials, local authorities and humanitarian workers on the ground, as well as with the most affected communities. They visited Matobo District in Bulawayo and Umguza District in Matebeleland Province, where they witnessed first-hand the impact of the drought.
“The people we’ve met in Zimbabwe are facing a historic drought and need urgent support now," Ghelani stressed.
"Moreover, Southern Africa may be facing extreme droughts like this one every decade: we need support for the medium term so that communities are not vulnerable to future shocks."
In April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a nationwide state of disaster due to severe drought caused by El Niño weather conditions. In May, the government launched a national plan to address the effects of the drought by supporting food distribution and imports.
The UN coordinated Drought Flash Appeal for Zimbabwe, which brings together more than 60 organizations to complement national efforts, needs US$429 million to assist 3.1 million people this year, but is only about 20 percent funded.
“Thanks to early funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the African Risk Capacity and other partners, the UN and partners have been able to kickstart anticipatory action and early response activities to mitigate the worst impacts of the drought,” Kallon said.
“Now we need to scale up the response, to ensure that no-one dies of hunger and children remain in school.”
The crisis is not unique to Zimbabwe.
El Niño has led to warmer and drier conditions, resulting in record-breaking droughts across Southern Africa in 2023 and early 2024. The weather phenomenon has caused widespread crop failures in the region and led to national emergency declarations in Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, among other countries.
El Niño occurs on average every two to seven years, with episodes typically lasting 9 to 12 months. It is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warming ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. However, the pattern occurs in the context of a climate that has been altered by human activities.
According to the United Nations, more than 61 million people in the region have been affected by drought and other extreme weather conditions caused by El Niño and exacerbated by the climate crisis. Heavy rains and flooding associated with El Niño have affected Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. In March, Tropical Storm Gamane caused widespread damage, displacement and disruption of services in Madagascar.
An estimated 26 to 30 million people across the region are acutely food insecure ahead of the upcoming lean season.
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have appealed for international assistance, but Angola, Eswatini, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania have also been affected by the drought that has gripped Southern Africa. Other countries are likely to follow.
In the region, the worst mid-season dry spell in more than 100 years, coupled with the lowest mid-season rainfall in 40 years and exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon, has had a severe impact on the population. People are experiencing staggering levels of food insecurity, acute malnutrition, water shortages and disease outbreaks.
As El Niño's grip loosens, the weather phenomenon of La Niña is looming. This phenomenon typically leads to heavy rains and flooding, further damaging crops and displacing people.
Southern Africa remains one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change OCHA points out that in a region where 70 percent of smallholder farmers depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, the impact of the severe drought on food security is severe.
The intense drought comes as the region grapples with one of the worst cholera outbreaks in decades. Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe are among the eight worst affected countries in the world. OCHA warns that water shortages will compromise hygiene and sanitation, reversing the gains made in controlling cholera outbreaks.
Further information
Full text: Urgent support needed to address historic El Niño drought in Zimbabwe, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs et al., press release, published August 2, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/zimbabwe/urgent-support-needed-address-historic-el-nino-drought-zimbabwe