Zimbabwe declares drought disaster, the latest in a region where El Nino has left millions hungry
Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster over a drought that’s sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the president saying it needs $2 billion in aid.
Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster Wednesday over a devastating drought that’s sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the country’s president saying it needs $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.
The declaration was widely expected following similar actions by neighboring Zambia and Malawi, where drought linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has scorched crops, leaving millions of people in need of food assistance.
“Due to the El Nino-induced drought … more than 80% of our country received below normal rainfall,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a speech calling for international aid. The country’s top priority, he said, is “securing food for all Zimbabweans. No Zimbabwean must succumb to, or die from hunger.”
He appealed to United Nations agencies, local businesses and faith organizations to contribute towards humanitarian assistance.
El Nino, a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean every two to seven years, has varied effects on the world’s weather. In southern Africa, it typically causes below-average rainfall, but this year has seen the worst drought in decades.
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