Zambia Declares National Emergency over Drought

March 1, 2024 Hour: 7:29 pm

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday declared the drought a national disaster and emergency as the country struggles to recover from a recent cholera epidemic.

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Hichilema said that severe drought due to the El Niño weather phenomenon had devastated food production and power generation. “This drought is having devastating consequences on many sectors such as agriculture, water availability, and energy supply, jeopardizing our national food security and the livelihoods of millions of people,” the president said in a speech to the nation

Mr. Hichilema noted that the drought is expected to continue until March, affecting more than a million of our agricultural households. According to the president, 84 of the country’s 116 districts have been affected. In this regard, he said that authorities would take food from areas where there is a surplus and distribute it to areas in need.

Amid this scenario, the president said he had asked security forces to focus more on food production.

With heavy hearts, we’ve declared a national disaster & emergency as our country faces severe drought, caused by the el Niño weather phenomenon, influenced by climate change. The prolonged dry spell has impacted both Zambia’s food & energy security that are our key priorities. pic.twitter.com/OKu8Zx62At

— Hakainde Hichilema (@HHichilema)
February 29, 2024

The southern African country plans to increase food imports and mobilizes UN agencies and local businesses to help, as 1 million hectares of the 2.2 million hectares planted to corn, the staple crop, have been destroyed.

The electricity production has also been hit by the worsening harsh weather conditions. Zambia is expecting a deficit of around 430 megawatts, potentially reaching 520 megawatts by December due to the falling level water in the Kariba Dam, the country’s main source of hydroelectric power.

The country will import electricity and ration supplies for its approximately 20 million people in an attempt to cope with the situation following a severe cholera outbreak that killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000.