The El Niño event of 2023/2024 has caused unprecedented drought conditions in Southern Africa, leading to critical food shortages, disease outbreaks, and significant impacts on agriculture. Nearly 23 million individuals are facing food insecurity, with over 2 million children at risk of acute malnutrition. The health system’s ability to respond is further strained by pre-existing epidemics, highlighting an urgent need for comprehensive humanitarian assistance and intervention.
The 2023/2024 El Niño event has precipitated severe drought conditions across Southern Africa, manifesting through delayed rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and extreme heat. This phenomenon, the most intense to impact the region in the past four decades, exacerbates an already precarious situation for communities grappling with crop failures and adverse economic conditions. The resulting drought has led to catastrophic food shortages, hindering access to clean water, triggering disease outbreaks, and causing significant livestock losses. According to national government assessments and FEWS NET estimates, the maize harvests in the affected areas have sharply declined, falling well below their five-year averages. As communities deplete their meager food reserves, they face months of uncertainty before the next harvest period, anticipated in April 2025.
This crisis emerges amidst the backdrop of Southern Africa’s vulnerability to climatic extremes, compounded by previous agricultural disruptions and socio-economic challenges. The 2024 drought has been declared a national disaster in six countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, while Angola and Mozambique are also severely impacted. Approximately 1.8 million individuals in Angola and 3.3 million in Mozambique are estimated to be facing food insecurity. The region must also contend with the compounding health crises such as cholera outbreaks, which have intensified due to the drought conditions. More than 2 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition, with over 500,000 experiencing severe wasting. This is in addition to the displacement of over one million people within the context of disasters and climate change, particularly in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
The adverse effects of the ongoing drought in Southern Africa underscore the critical need for urgent humanitarian assistance, particularly as millions confront food insecurity and malnutrition. The intersection of climatic disruptions, health emergencies, and socio-economic challenges calls for enhanced response strategies and preparedness. Immediate action is essential to bolster community resilience and prevent further deterioration of public health across the affected nations.
Original Source: reliefweb.int
