Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced a state of national disaster as the Southern African country faces its worst drought crisis in years.
The severe drought, which began last year as the result of the El Nino global weather pattern, has left over 2.7 million Zimbabweans starving.
Mnangagwa said that more than $2 billion was required to combat the crisis and that winter cropping was a priority to boost food reserves.
“Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires more than two billion dollars towards various interventions we envisage in our national response,” Mnangagwa said.
He said the government would prioritise winter cropping to boost reserves and work with the private sector to import grains.
The drought has triggered similar proclamations from Zambia and Malawi.
Projections show that Zimbabwe, whose population is about 15 million, will experience a 60% deficit in the overall cereal harvest due to crop failure in various regions across the country.
The World Food Programme has categorised the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe as “dire”.
Similar situations exist in neighbouring Angola, Botswana, Madagascar and Mozambique.
