On Wednesday, Zimbabwe announced a state of disaster due to a severe drought plaguing much of southern Africa. The country’s president emphasised the urgent need for $2 billion in humanitarian aid.
This declaration aligns with neighbouring Zambia and Malawi’s actions in response to the drought, which has decimated crops and left millions requiring food assistance, attributed to the El Niño weather pattern.
“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 urged United Nations agencies, local enterprises, and religious groups to join forces in providing humanitarian aid.
El Niño, a cyclical climatic event warming parts of the Pacific Ocean every few years, impacts global weather differently. In southern Africa, it often results in reduced rainfall, but this year’s manifestation has led to the most severe drought in decades.
In Zimbabwe, the World Food Program of the United Nations has initiated a food aid initiative, targeting 2.7 million individuals, nearly a fifth of the nation’s population, from January to March.
The first few months of the year are traditionally known as the “lean period,” when households run short as they wait for the new harvest. However, there is little hope for replenishing food stores this year, and Mnangagwa said that even more people than previously forecast will likely need food aid.
Over 60% of Zimbabwe’s 15 million inhabitants reside in rural areas, cultivating their own sustenance and occasionally generating modest surpluses for sale, often to cover expenses like school fees. With minimal engagement in the formal economy, many struggle to afford food even when it’s accessible in markets.
Once a regional agricultural hub and exporter of grains, Zimbabwe has increasingly relied on aid organizations to stave off widespread hunger amid extreme weather patterns, including heatwaves and floods.
President Mnangagwa’s declaration paves the way for aid agencies to galvanize international assistance, though limitations in resources amid a global hunger crisis and reduced humanitarian funding from wealthy nations may mean not everyone receives aid. Targeting the most vulnerable populations becomes imperative due to these constraints.
In 2019, Zimbabwe declared a national disaster and implored international donors for humanitarian aid after crop failures left tens of thousands in dire need.
