- A nutrition crisis is likely to unfold unless preventive actions are taken urgently, UNICEF reports following a SMART survey recently conducted in 84 drought affected districts. Hunger scale and nutrient gaps are high especially in southern and western provinces, followed by north-western and central provinces. In six of the seven surveyed provinces, more than half of households were experiencing moderate to severe hunger as early as May when the country is still in the harvest season.
- Infant and young child feeding practices are of high concern with children 6-23 months not getting the minimum acceptable diet (97.5% western province, 93.9% southern). An estimated 51,950 children under five are expected to fall into severe wasting within the next 12 months, and another 276,805 into Moderate Acute Malnutrition.
- According to the UN Emergency Appeal issued in May 2024, at least 6.6 million people need humanitarian assistance due to the El Niño-induced drought, including 1.4 million children below age five. President Hichilema declared the ongoing drought a national disaster on 29 February
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