14 million face hunger in southern Africa, says UN

ABOUT 14 million people in Southern Africa are facing hunger because of last year’s poor harvest, caused by the El Nino weather pattern, the World Food Programme said.

In a statement released yesterday, the WFP, which is the UN’s food-assistance branch, gave warning that the number of people without enough food is likely to rise further in 2016, as the drought worsens throughout the region.

“Worst affected in the region by last year’s poor rains are Malawi (2.8 million people facing hunger), Madagascar (nearly 1.9 million people) and Zimbabwe (1.5 million) where last year’s harvest was reduced by half compared to the previous year because of massive crop failure,” the WFP statement said.

“In Lesotho, the government last month declared a drought emergency and some 650,000 people – one-third of the population – do not have enough food.”

The WFP said that food prices across Southern Africa have risen sharply because of the reduced production and availability.

“I’m particularly concerned that smallholders won’t be able to harvest enough crops to feed their own families through the year, let alone to sell what little they can in order to cover school fees and other household needs,” said Ertharin Cousin, WFP executive director, after a visit to southern Zambia. 

Al Jazeera said El Nino, which strictly refers to the surface warming of the eastern and central Pacific Basin, has had a knock-on effect across much of the world.

This naturally occurring phenomenon, which appears every two to seven years, was particularly strong in 2015.