LUSAKA – Oxfam has sounded the alarm over the dire situation facing over six million people from farming families in Zambia, who are grappling with acute food shortages and malnutrition due to a severe drought crisis.
The humanitarian organization warns that these challenges are expected to persist until the next growing season, which is twelve months away, exacerbating an already dire situation.
The crisis has been intensified by climate change and El Niño, leading to massive crop failures affecting half of the nation’s planted area.
As a result, the Zambian government has declared a national disaster and emergency in response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
President Hakainde Hichilema highlighted the severity of the situation, stating, “The country has gone without rain for five weeks at a time when farmers needed it the most.”
The drought has ravaged 84 out of the country’s 116 districts, impacting more than a million farming households.
Ezra Banda, Director at Keepers Zambia Foundation, emphasized the urgent need for support, stating, “Urgent support in the form of food and clean water is what people need the most now.”
He underscored the devastating impact of the crisis on communities, many of whom are already vulnerable due to previous challenges such as the worst cholera outbreak and last year’s flooding.
Smallholder farmer Mainza Muchindu shared his plight, expressing deep concern for his family’s welfare amid the crop failure.
“I don’t know where else I will get food from. I can only hope that there will be food relief from the government, otherwise we are facing a big problem,” Muchindu lamented.
Oxfam Southern Africa Programme Director, Machinda Marongwe, stressed the urgent need for climate financing to support vulnerable smallholder farmers.
Marongwe emphasized the critical role of rich countries in providing support to mitigate the impact of climate change, urging them to fulfill their commitments.
Oxfam in Zambia Country Representative, Yvonne Chibiya, revealed ongoing assessments in targeted districts to inform the humanitarian response.
Chibiya highlighted Oxfam’s urgent need for funding to provide essential assistance to affected communities.
Oxfam has called for immediate action, urgently requiring 6 million Euros to provide cash transfers, clean water, assistance with winter cropping, and improve local sanitation and hygiene services to prevent a resurgence of the cholera outbreak.
