A record drought that has already destroyed crops across southern Africa, starving millions and forcing five countries to declare a national disaster is now entering its worst phase, the United Nations has warned.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) has said it expects an increase in the number of people struggling to feed themselves.
"Now the worst period is coming," WFP acting regional director for southern Africa Lola Castro told AFP in Johannesburg on Friday.
"People couldn't collect anything and the problem is that the next harvest will be in April 2025," she added.
After Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the small kingdom of Lesotho two weeks ago declared a state of national disaster due to the El Niño meteorological phenomenon, which brings drought to some parts of the world and floods to others.
Angola and Mozambique are expected to declare a disaster or severe food shortage soon, added Lola Castro.
According to some estimates, the drought is the worst in the region in the last 100 years, she said.
At least 27 million people have been affected, many of whom depend on agriculture to survive, said Lola Castro.
The drought has destroyed 70 percent of crops in Zambia and 80 percent in Zimbabwe, severely reducing supplies and driving up food prices, she said.
"Even when we can't talk about hunger, people can't buy adequate meals or consume enough calories per day. Children start to get weak, the population starts to suffer," she said.
The WFP, which requested $409 million to provide food, cash and other aid to about six million people in the region, has so far received only about $200 million, added Lola Castro.
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