The World Bank has allocated a $208 million grant to Zambia to mitigate the severe impact of drought, announced the country’s finance ministry on Tuesday.
Southern Africa is grappling with its most severe drought in years, exacerbated by El Nino weather patterns and elevated temperatures from greenhouse gases.
Zambia, alongside Malawi and Zimbabwe, has declared a state of disaster due to the drought’s devastating effects on food production and livelihoods.
The grant aims to provide temporary cash support to over 1.6 million households across 84 drought-affected districts over the next year.
In addition to emergency cash assistance, the funding will bolster existing social protection programs in Zambia, as efforts intensify to alleviate the humanitarian and economic fallout from the drought.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund approved an increase in financial aid to Zambia from $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion to further assist the nation’s response to the crisis.
