Zimbabwe's Drought Emergency: National Disaster Declared, Hunger Threatens Southern Africa| Oneindia

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Zimbabwe declares a national disaster due to a crippling drought, seeking $2 billion in aid. President Mnangagwa blames El-Nino for the crisis. The region faces one of its worst dry spells in decades, with millions in need of food relief. Zambia and Malawi also declare disasters, highlighting the dire situation across southern Africa.    #Zimbabwe #ElNino #Zambia #Malawi #Africanews #Africa #SouthAfrica #Drought #Africaupdates #Zimbabwenews #WorldNews #Oneindia #Oneindianews                  ~HT.99~PR.152~ED.155~

Transcript

00:00 Zimbabwe has officially declared a state of national disaster in response to a severe

00:07 drought that has plunged millions into a food crisis.

00:11 President Imerson Mangagwa has emphasized the urgent need for $2 billion in humanitarian

00:18 aid to address the crisis attributing the drought to the El Nino phenomenon, which disrupts

00:24 weather patterns globally by rising sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

00:29 This declaration now makes Zimbabwe the third southern African nation following Zambia and

00:34 Malawi to acknowledge the ongoing drought as a disaster.

00:38 The region is grappling with one of the worst dry spells in decades, leading to dire consequences

00:44 for agriculture and food security.

00:47 The situation in Zimbabwe has been deteriorating steadily since the beginning of this year.

00:52 Between January and March, the World Food Programme provided assistance to approximately

00:57 2.7 million people, which represents around 20 per cent of the country's population.

01:04 South Africa as a whole is facing a severe food crisis if you talk about data, with over

01:10 17 million people in need of food relief according to the United Nations.

01:15 Malawi and Zambia are particularly hard hit, with approximately 9 million and 6 million

01:20 people requiring assistance, respectively.

01:23 Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has been actively providing aid to 2.7 million individuals

01:28 in Zimbabwe.

01:30 The Zambian President Hakinde Hichalema and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera have already

01:36 declared drought a national disaster in their respective countries.

01:40 Hichalema already reported a significant crop loss, with nearly half of Zambia's staple

01:45 corn destroyed.

01:47 Chakwera similarly highlighted the need for over 200 million in urgent humanitarian assistance

01:53 to support 2 million households affected by the drought.

01:56 Meanwhile, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi have already declared a national disaster.

02:01 The entire South African region is actually feeling the effect of this drought.

02:06 The low rainfall and a delayed start to the rainy season have devastated harvests across

02:10 Angola, Mozambique and beyond, affecting tens of millions of people who rely on agriculture

02:16 for their livelihood.

02:18 Zimbabwe is increasingly dependent on aid agencies now to mediate the impact of such

02:24 weather extremes, highlighting the urgent need for long-term solutions to address the

02:28 underlying cause of food security in the region.

02:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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