Malawi declares a code red as the drought ravages the state

Even as various parts of southern Africa fume under the effects of the drought,  Malawi, one of the worst affected regions has declared a state of emergency. The prolonged drought, which has also given birth to an acute food shortage throughout the state, is leading to a massive hunger crisis. The yield of maize has deteriorated by a shocking 12%, forcing the Malawians to survive on 1 million fewer tonnes of the grain, as confirmed by President Peter Mutharika.

Nearly 20% of the Malawian population has been hit by the drought, out of the total 50 million affected in various regions of South and East Africa. ” I declare Malawi (in) a state of national disaster following prolonged dry spells during the 2015/16 agriculture season. With the increased maize deficit, it is expected that an increased number of people will be food insecure and will require humanitarian relief assistance for the whole 2016-17 consumption year,” the President of Malawi said in his statement to the citizens.

Malawi’s South and East African neighbours like Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zambia are also undergoing the same plight, with their economies buckling under pressure for survival due to severe droughts and food shortages. Almost 2.8 million rural citizens of Zimbabwe do not have enough to eat and in South Africa, the citizens think that this drought is perhaps the most lethal that it has had to face in the last century or so. The UN and the other aid groups in Mozambique have channelized nearly $15 million in funds for relief work, co-ordinated by groups such as Humanitarian Country Team (HCT).

A representative of the HCT, Michel Le Pechoux said that central Mozambique was the worst impacted region and added,”But the response is still very limited compared to the actual needs, which amount to about $200 million.”

Malawi, under the drought spell for the last year and a half, has been the recipient of disasters related to climate change time and again. Having faced coastal flooding in the last year, Malawi is fighting this gargantuan drought brought forth by the El Nino climatic phenomenon.

Source: Al Jazeera

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