The United Nations’ food agency, World Food Program (WFP) has indicated that hunger caused by drought triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon has placed the lives of more than 27 million people in jeopardy as crops continually fail.
El Niño, a weather phenomenon which warms parts of the central Pacific, has different impacts on weather in different parts of the world. The latest El Niño formed in the middle of last year and ended in June.
According to reports, five countries Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger. The WFP estimates that about 21 million children in southern Africa are now malnourished which could escalate to a full-scale human catastrophe.
WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri touted the food crisis as the ‘worst in decades’. “October in southern Africa marks the start of the lean season, and each month is expected to be worse than the previous one until harvests next year in March and April. Crops have failed, livestock have perished and children are lucky to receive one meal per day.” he added.
The five countries that declared drought-related disasters have pleaded for international aid, while Angola on the west coast of Africa and Mozambique on the east coast are also “severely affected,” Phiri said, showing the extent to which the drought has swept across the region.