1.5m people at risk from drought as Zimbabwe ‘declares state of disaster’

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has declared a state of disaster in most rural parts of the country severely hit by a drought. More than a quarter of the population is in need of food aid, his government said. “Initial indications were that 1.5 million people were food insecure with all the 60 rural districts being affected,” public works minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a statement. Declaring a state of disaster allows international donors to raise money quickly to provide food aid to Zimbabwe, which has said it will step up imports of the staple maize by buying up to 700,000 tonnes this year to avert hunger.

With the drought continuing, it looks like the lean season is going to continue beyond the harvest time this year. The number of food insecure people is likely to rise and continue rising.

David Orr, UN’s World Food Programme

At least 16,500 cattle have died in Zimbabwe, while up to three-quarters of crops have been abandoned in the worse-hit areas, Mr Kasukuwere said. The Zimbabwean government would take measures to minimise the impact of the drought on both humans and livestock, he added. But there were no details and the country has few resources to tackle the crisis due to years of international isolation and its stagnant economy. Mr Mugabe has blamed low farm yields on erratic rains caused by climate change, as well as sanctions imposed by Western countries over the government’s tainted human rights record. His critics say the food shortages have been partially caused by the president’s land reforms enacted since 2000 when the government oversaw the often violent eviction of white farmers.

We have drought in this country and it is a pending disaster

Vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa

zimbabwe