Months of drought in southern Africa, driven by the El Niño weather phenomenon, have affected over 27 million people, according to the United Nations. The drought has caused the region’s worst hunger crisis in decades, the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) reported on Tuesday.
The WFP warned that the situation could escalate into a “full-scale human catastrophe.” The agency highlighted that five countries—Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have declared national disasters due to the severe drought and ensuing hunger crisis. An estimated 21 million children in southern Africa are currently malnourished as crops fail.
Most people in the region rely on small-scale farming, which depends on rain for both sustenance and income. Aid organizations warned last year that El Niño’s impact would result in below-average rainfall, further intensified by climate change.
“This is the worst food crisis in decades,” said WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri. “October marks the start of the lean season, and conditions will worsen until the harvest next year in March and April. Crops have failed, livestock have died, and many children receive just one meal a day.”
The affected countries have appealed for international aid, and Angola and Mozambique are also experiencing severe impacts. The WFP said it needs around $369 million for emergency assistance but has only received a fraction of this amount. The agency has begun distributing food and critical support upon requests from governments in the region.
Phiri noted that the crisis coincides with increasing global humanitarian needs, including in Gaza and Sudan. USAID reported in June that the drought is the worst in 100 years, severely affecting the agricultural season from January to March and leaving millions without food.
El Niño, which warms parts of the central Pacific, has different effects worldwide. Its recent occurrence, combined with climate change and rising ocean temperatures, has led to extreme weather in the past year.
