Zimbabwe announced a state of disaster on Wednesday due to a severe drought affecting much of southern Africa.
The country’s president emphasized the need for $2 billion in humanitarian aid.
Similar declarations have been made by neighboring Zambia and Malawi, where the El Nino-induced drought has destroyed crops, leaving millions reliant on 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 urged United Nations agencies, local businesses, and faith organizations to contribute to humanitarian aid efforts.
El Nino, a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean every two to seven years, has diverse impacts on global weather patterns. In southern Africa, it usually results in below-average rainfall, but this year has brought the most severe drought in decades.
Melissa Enoch
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