Drought in Zambia: A Vicious Cycle of Hunger and Climate Crisis !

Drought in Zambia: A Vicious Cycle of Hunger and Climate Crisis !

KAKALI DAS

A special report on the devastating impact of climate change on some of the world’s most vulnerable countries. The combination of the global El Niño weather cycle and rising temperatures has left vast regions of Africa severely dry. Six southern African countries have already declared a state of emergency due to extreme drought conditions.

A new report reveals that nearly 15 million people will require urgent humanitarian aid between now and Christmas, with more than 2 million children estimated to be suffering from acute malnutrition.

Zambia is one of the countries hardest hit, with the prolonged drought severely affecting its population. Another day under the relentless African sun, with no sign of rain in sight. In Namibia, a staggering 100% of the crops have failed, scorched by the heat and deprived of moisture. People in these areas are now resorting to eating dried leaves for survival.

“We planted all our seeds, but nothing came out,” said a local woman.

In a neighbouring area, a crowd gathers, waiting for subsidized maize. Nishua, a woman six months pregnant, has walked two hours for three consecutive mornings to get her food.

“I’m really worried about my baby. I don’t know what will happen because I’ve been hungry for days,” said Nishua.

A full-scale crisis looms on the horizon. Starvation has been temporarily averted through medical intervention and aid. Nutrient-rich rations have revived babies who were on the brink of death just a month ago, when their bodies were beginning to shut down.

We are nearing the end of an El Niño weather cycle, which naturally brings dry conditions to central Africa. However, the dams have never been as empty as they are now.

The farming techniques people learned as children can no longer cope with the rapidly changing climate.

“I have lost all my crops to the drought,” said a local farmer.

The severity of the climate crisis can be measured by the depth of boreholes. Three-quarters of the boreholes in the country are no longer deep enough to access underground water reserves.

When the rains finally arrive, the best-case scenario is that the harvest will not take place until February or March of next year. The worst-case scenario is that the rains either fail to materialize or, if they do arrive, fall so heavily that they wash away the topsoil and crops, plunging the country into yet another crisis.

In this increasingly unpredictable climate, they are bracing for the worst. Hospitals have prepared emergency beds and are ready to admit many children.

They still have a few months ahead during which people may go without food. What worries them is that death is something they are already witnessing.

Mainza Kawanu from UNICEF Zambia, in a interview with ITV News stated, “We know that in the Western Province alone, 88% of households are already food insecure. This is not just an environmental issue; it’s a child rights issue.”

Another fundamental right is education, as classrooms depend on children having full stomachs.

Sandy Shuwa, head teacher of Chipapa Primary School, stated, “We are worried as a school, and as a teacher, I’m concerned because we are likely to see many of these children drop out due to hunger.”

The drought has even disrupted power supply. Nearly empty hydro dams have led to electricity being rationed to just three hours a day. Without power, there is no water pumping for irrigation, resulting in large sections of crops being only half planted.

“We have a wheat field with wheat on one side and none on the other. This is due to the power shortage,” said a farmer.

Profits from the area’s 12,000-hectare farm are being consumed by the costs of running diesel generators.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult, and it should be getting easier with the rains approaching. However, we still won’t have power, and we might only be able to access electricity in February when the Zambezi floods hopefully occur.”

If this is the new climate normal, old habits must change. Maize, which accounts for two-thirds of the country’s calorie intake, is being supplemented with native, drought-resistant cassava.

UNICEF is supporting cooking classes to reintroduce forgotten forest fruits, while cash assistance enables villages to purchase goats, which provide a reliable source of protein and income.

Zambia, once a farming giant, is struggling to feed its people in the face of climate change. Malnutrition statistics indicate that this country is on the brink of a crisis.

When examining the climate in the UK, we have observed over the decades that heatwaves are becoming longer and hotter, followed by more intense spells of rain. When we apply this to a country like Zambia, which already experiences a more extreme climate, it significantly increases the risk of droughts on one end and floods on the other.

Yet, when discussing who is to blame for man-made climate change, it’s important to note that the emissions produced in just ten days in the UK can equal those of an entire year in some countries. This places the UK at the forefront of the issue, contributing significantly to the growing concerns about hunger.

Ministers in Zambia are developing plans for a potential outbreak later this year.

Without electricity, the country is facing significant struggles. They need to invest in solar energy; without power, businesses cannot thrive. If they can’t grow and sell crops, they won’t have the money needed to sustain themselves.

It is a vicious cycle that increasingly affects a large number of developing countries around the world, placing them at the forefront of the battle against climate change.

Mahabahu.com is an Online Magazine with collection of premium Assamese and English articles and posts with cultural base and modern thinking.  You can send your articles to editor@mahabahu.com / editor@mahabahoo.com (For Assamese article, Unicode font is necessary) Images from different sources.