THE United Nations (UN) and its partners yesterday made an urgent call to save millions of lives in southern Africa including Zimbabwe that have been affected by a severe drought.
Millions could be pushed into acute hunger unless support is urgently mobilised before the next lean season, the UN and its partners said.
The joint call was made by the UN, non-governmental organisations, regional and national authorities, humanitarian and development partners during a briefing on the emergency in southern Africa, held in Pretoria, South Africa.
The meeting sought to highlight the severe impacts of El Niño and the climate-driven crisis.
The joint call follows a recent extraordinary Southern African Development Community summit in May that saw the launch of a regional appeal seeking US$5,5 billion to provide urgent lifesaving assistance.
“Rural communities we have met on the ground tell us they have never seen anything like this. They are extremely worried about their future,” said Reena Ghelani, the UN climate crisis co-ordinator for the El Niño/La Niña Response.
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She added that “urgent support is needed now, and at scale, to protect lives and livelihoods.”
The unfolding impact of the El Niño phenomenon has led to a severe rainfall deficit across the southern Africa region.
The region experienced its driest February in 100 years, receiving 20% of the usual rainfall expected for this period.
United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Etleva Kadilli, said the climate crisis was a disaster for children in the region.
“Drought and floods also have a ripple effect on access to education, leaving children vulnerable to child labour and child marriages,” Kadilli said.
“Alongside immediate life-saving aid, sustained and flexible support from donors, including joint investments and innovative financing in climate prevention and preparedness will be vital in saving lives and strengthening the resilience of children repeatedly hit by climate emergencies.”
In a related event, United States Agency for International Development (USAid) food security arm also warned that constrained access to income is anticipated for many Zimbabwean households because of the drought.
According to the USAid’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network latest report, high food prices and constrained purchasing capacity will be rampant.
“The poor/failed harvests across the country negatively impacted household access to agricultural labour opportunities and income from crop sales,” the report read.
“Most poor households are expected to remain reliant on off-own-farm income and try to expand and intensify their engagement in different livelihood and coping strategies to meet their food needs.
“However, increased competition and limited demand will likely limit earnings and household purchasing capacity.”
The report said the early start of the 2024/25 lean season would likely deepen the erosion of livelihood assets as households seek to earn income for food purchases.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa appealed for US$3,3 million after declaring the El Niño-induced drought as a state of national disaster.
The United Nations is mobilising US$429,3 million for humanitarian assistance during the period.
“The US$ prices are stable but remain high. Staple cereal prices have not reduced as typical during the harvest or immediate post-harvest period. Rather, prices remain atypically high and continue to increase in some areas,” the report said.
Government last month said it was commencing distribution of cash to more than 60% of urban households which have been identified as being food insecure by the recently concluded 2024 ZimLAC Urban Livelihoods and Nutrition Assessments.