Climate Changed
Wild Weather Has 12 Million Southern Africans Facing Hunger
- Drought and floods have destroyed harvests across the region
- Expensive food imports could spur inflation, worsen poverty
Schoolchildren eat lunch, offered by the World Food Programme's Under-nutrition Prevention Programme, in the Amboasary-South district of southern Madagascar.
Photographer: Rijasolo/AFP via Getty Images
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As many as 9.2 million people in southern Africa face severe food insecurity as a result of extreme weather conditions, and the number is forecast to rise to 12 million by March, according to the United Nations.
“Parts of southern Africa have experienced their lowest rainfall since 1981,” the organization said in an emailed statement Friday. “Others have endured the destruction of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, causing food insecurity, malnutrition and disease to increase in multiple countries.”