The worst is still in Africa. Record drought who is there anymore destroyed crops throughout southern Africa, causes millions of people to starve and the UN, which prompted five countries to declare a national disaster, is now entering its worst phase.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says it expects the number of people struggling to feed themselves to rise.
State of national disaster
Lola Castro, the World Food Programme’s acting regional director for southern Africa, said on Friday: “The worst is coming. “People haven’t been able to harvest anything and the problem is that the next harvest won’t be until April 2025.”
Following Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the tiny kingdom of Lesotho two weeks ago became the latest country to declare a national disaster following drought. El Nino phenomenon.
Lola Castro added that other countries such as Angola and Mozambique may soon follow suit or report a gap between what they have and what they need.
Worst drought in 100 years
He noted that according to some estimates, the drought is the worst drought seen in the region in the last 100 years. Lola Castro said at least 27 million people were affected in a region where many people rely on agriculture for a living.
“The corn is completely dry and fluffy, it hasn’t grown and people are really trying to figure out what they’re going to do next to feed their families,” he said. Even if El Nino is no longer severe, its effects continue.
Critical situation
“We can’t talk about hunger, but people can’t get enough food or eat enough calories a day. Children start to lose weight, the population starts to suffer,” the WFP manager added.
The program encourages farmers to plant more drought-resistant crops such as sorghum, millet and cassava to cope with future droughts.
Even after appealing for $409 million to provide food, cash and other assistance to nearly six million people in the region, WFP has so far received only $200 million.