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WFP Regional Bureau for Southern Africa: El Niño Situation Report #1, 17 July 2024 (reporting period: June 2024)

Attachments

Highlights

• The El Niño-induced drought and flooding has triggered a prolonged hunger crisis, requiring a comprehensive, large-scale regional and multi-sectoral response to address the immediate needs of millions of people in Southern Africa.

• The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is engaging in coordinated collaboration with Governments, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as other humanitarian and development partners, including International Financial Institutions. This coordination is essential to immediately scale up the response that is urgently required to avert large-scale loss of life and restore livelihoods.

• WFP currently requires US$ 409 million to scale-up its initial response to provide general food assistance to over 4.5 million people in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe between now and March 2025, with plans to scale up in other El Niño affected countries in the region.

• WFP’s activities are being closely coordinated with national responses to avoid duplication and ensure maximum coverage of areas in need.

In Numbers

4.5 million beneficiaries to be supported by WFP with general food assistance in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

US$ 5.5 billion Regional Humanitarian Appeal from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

US$ 409 million urgently required for WFP to respond for the next 6 months.

Situation Update

A climate and food security crisis is unfolding across Southern Africa, with the impact of El Niño producing extensive dry spells, isolated floods, crop failure, livestock deaths and deteriorating water, sanitation and health (WASH) conditions in the region. Thus far, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have declared national drought disasters.

While the current El Niño cycle has come to an end, the consequences will be felt for months to come, with the hunger crisis likely to worsen and persist until the next harvest season (April/May 2025). In addition, there is a 70 percent chance of La Niña developing by August to October 2024, with a heightened risk of flooding in countries impacted by El Niño.

The crisis triggered by El Niño is expected to lead to a significant regional food deficit, with an estimated 5 million tons of imported maize necessary to meet regional demand. Southern African maize prices have been atypically high in recent months with maize market prices across Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa and Zimbabwe in May 2024 being at least 10 percent above their respective May 2023 levels.

Further, the Southern Africa region has high rates of chronic malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency, a factor associated with poor quality diet and poor public health conditions. The impact of El Niño, extreme weather conditions, as well as conflict in parts of the region have resulted in communities being predisposed to further risks for deteriorating levels of malnutrition. Close monitoring of the situation is needed given compromised livelihoods, worsening quality of diet, adopting of extreme coping strategies of skipping meals, and shifting to lower quality diets nutritionally. The hunger crisis is also forcing families to make survival decisions, putting children and women at heightened protection risks.