SADC Hunger Emergency ‘On A Scale Not Seen Before,’ Warns WFP

Riyaz Patel

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that a record 45 million people in the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) are facing growing hunger following repeated drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray.

Southern Africa is in the grips of a severe drought, as climate change wreaks havoc in impoverished countries already struggling to cope with extreme natural disasters, such as Cyclone Idai which devastated Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in 2019.

Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of southern Africa, is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a decade, marked by soaring inflation and shortages of food, fuel, medicines and electricity.

Bread now costs 20 times what it cost six months ago. High food prices are forcing families to eat less, skip meals, take children out of school,