Attachments
Key messages
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The current rainfall season has been the driest in the last 35 years across several parts of the Southern Africa Region. Two consecutive below-average rainy seasons have significantly impacted crop and livestock production, cereal prices, water availability, and livelihoods.
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Food and nutrition security in the region also remains extremely fragile, with the situation expected to worsen. Overall, 28 million people are estimated to be at risk of food insecurity.
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Nearly 12 million people are food insecure in Zimbabwe (2.4 million), Malawi (2.8 million), Mozambique (1.8 million), Lesotho (350,000), Swaziland (350,000), southern Angola (1.4 million) and Madagascar (1.9 million).
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Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, have declared state of emergency appealing for international support. In addition the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) council of ministers has declared southern Africa a drought disaster, with more than 28 million people deemed food insecure.
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The nutritional situation has significantly deteriorated as a direct consequence of El Niño and the prolonged drought situation it has caused. Of particular concern are Mozambique, Madagascar and Angola.
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Across the region, food insecurity is also exacerbated by political instability, socio-economic challenges, the world's highest number of HIV/AIDS cases, and widespread poverty.
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In April 2016, the EU announced additional emergency support of €40 million for Southern Africa as one of the regions most affected by El Niño. In December 2015, the EU had already provided €12 million of emergency support for the same reason. The additional aid will help meet urgent needs of the populations, but also support resilience efforts to make them better equipped in the future.