Climate change emergency
Namibia is among the hardest-hit countries with regards to hunger across southern Africa.
With 45 million people facing hunger across southern Africa, the region is in the throes of a climate emergency.
Eight of the hardest-hit countries are Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Malawi, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned in a new report regarding the region's climate-driven food crisis.
“This hunger crisis is on a scale we have not seen before and the evidence shows it is going to get worse,” said Lola Castro, WFP's regional director for southern Africa.
Zimbabwe faces its worst hunger emergency in a decade, with 7.7 million people – half the population – seriously food insecure, while 20% of people in Zambia are also seriously food insecure. A further 20% of the population of drought-stricken Lesotho are also now severely hungry, as are 10% of Namibians.
“Having suffered its worst drought in a generation during the last growing season, a 53% drop in 2019 cereal production and massive livestock losses, Namibia has seen hunger surge,” says the report.
It said that some 290 000 of our 2.5 million people are now severely food insecure.
“Not having directly distributed food in Namibia for several years, WFP provided food to 17 000 people in December. Distributions will be expanded to reach 379 000 people,” according to the report.
The WFP said the figure of 45 million people was a record, and affected mainly women and children in region following repeated drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray.
“While our most pressing priority are the millions in need of immediate support, building the resilience of the many more threatened by increasingly frequent and destructive droughts and storms is absolutely essential,” Castro said.
As the 'lean' season deepens ahead of the annual cereal harvest in April/May, the international community must accelerate emergency assistance to millions of desperately hungry people in southern Africa, and long-term investments to enable the region's vulnerability to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change, said the report.
With temperatures rising at twice the global average and most of its food produced by subsistence farmers who are entirely dependent on increasingly unreliable rains, southern Africa has had just one normal growing season in the last five years, the report further read.
WFP plans to provide lean season assistance to 8.3 million people grappling with 'crisis' or 'emergency' levels of hunger in the eight hardest-hit countries.
To date, WFP has secured just US$205 million of the US$489 million required for this assistance and has been forced to resort heavily on internal borrowing to ensure food reaches those in need.
ELLANIE SMIT
Eight of the hardest-hit countries are Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Malawi, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned in a new report regarding the region's climate-driven food crisis.
“This hunger crisis is on a scale we have not seen before and the evidence shows it is going to get worse,” said Lola Castro, WFP's regional director for southern Africa.
Zimbabwe faces its worst hunger emergency in a decade, with 7.7 million people – half the population – seriously food insecure, while 20% of people in Zambia are also seriously food insecure. A further 20% of the population of drought-stricken Lesotho are also now severely hungry, as are 10% of Namibians.
“Having suffered its worst drought in a generation during the last growing season, a 53% drop in 2019 cereal production and massive livestock losses, Namibia has seen hunger surge,” says the report.
It said that some 290 000 of our 2.5 million people are now severely food insecure.
“Not having directly distributed food in Namibia for several years, WFP provided food to 17 000 people in December. Distributions will be expanded to reach 379 000 people,” according to the report.
The WFP said the figure of 45 million people was a record, and affected mainly women and children in region following repeated drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray.
“While our most pressing priority are the millions in need of immediate support, building the resilience of the many more threatened by increasingly frequent and destructive droughts and storms is absolutely essential,” Castro said.
As the 'lean' season deepens ahead of the annual cereal harvest in April/May, the international community must accelerate emergency assistance to millions of desperately hungry people in southern Africa, and long-term investments to enable the region's vulnerability to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change, said the report.
With temperatures rising at twice the global average and most of its food produced by subsistence farmers who are entirely dependent on increasingly unreliable rains, southern Africa has had just one normal growing season in the last five years, the report further read.
WFP plans to provide lean season assistance to 8.3 million people grappling with 'crisis' or 'emergency' levels of hunger in the eight hardest-hit countries.
To date, WFP has secured just US$205 million of the US$489 million required for this assistance and has been forced to resort heavily on internal borrowing to ensure food reaches those in need.
ELLANIE SMIT
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