Attachments
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AT A GLANCE
6.6M people in need
1.2M people in 23 Districts WFP Targeted Assistance
US$ 54.8M Humanitarian and Resilience funding requirement
CURRENT SITUATION
Following the 2023/24 El Nino event, the country is experiencing a drought which has led to significant levels of food insecurity due to the negative impact on agricultural seasons leading to crop failure of approximately one million hectares of the 2.2 million hectares of farmland cultivated.
The President of the Republic of Zambia declared the drought a national disaster and emergency on 29 February 2024, indicating that the drought affected 84 (of 116) districts with an estimated 6.6 million people, 1.4 million households in 84 districts requiring food assistance.
In April 2024, the President launched the food security and drought response plan and appealed for immediate support from stakeholders to alleviate human suffering as a result of the increased food insecurity. In April, the Government released the food security drought response plan, and the President issued an Appeal for immediate food relief, school feeding, nutrition, recovery and resilience building support. According to the government response plan, an estimated 9.8 million affected across 84 districts and 6.6 million people (1.1 households) are targeted for immediate humanitarian assistance, food assistance being the highest priority.
This 14-month (April 2024-May 2025) Government plan indicates a total funding requirement of USD 941 million. Of this, the food assistance funding requirement is US$ 502 million with a gap of US$ 501 million.