"Millions on Brink of Starvation: Southern Africa's Desperate Cry for Help!

"Millions on Brink of Starvation: Southern Africa's Desperate Cry for Help!

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A dire situation is unfolding in southern Africa, where more than 24 million people are facing the grim realities of hunger, malnutrition, and water scarcity due to a combination of drought and floods. 

Oxfam has sounded the alarm, warning that the region is on the brink of an "unimaginable humanitarian crisis."

This warning comes as Zimbabwe, along with other southern African nations such as Zambia and Malawi, has declared the drought a national disaster. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has stated that over 2.7 million people in the country will require assistance to avoid hunger this year, with more than $2 billion in aid needed for the national response.

The drought has been exacerbated by El Niño, a natural climate pattern originating in the Pacific Ocean, which brings high temperatures and low rainfall to the affected region. 

This, in turn, increases the likelihood of flooding when rainfall does occur.

Southern Africa, already identified as a "climate disaster hotspot" by Oxfam, is heading into its traditional dry season with large parts of the region, including Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, already grappling with a prolonged dry spell.

Rainfall levels from late January to February were the lowest in at least 40 years, and central parts of the region experienced the driest February in over a century. 

This has resulted in extensive damage to crops in Zambia, Malawi, and Central Mozambique.

Despite contributing minimally to global planet-heating pollution, southern Africa, particularly Mozambique, is disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. Mozambique, accounting for only 0.2% of global emissions, is now grappling with the effects of intense rainfall, leading to devastating floods in March.

Oxfam's southern Africa program director, Machinda Marongwe, has emphasized the urgency of the situation, calling on donors to immediately release resources to prevent the region from spiraling further into a humanitarian crisis.

The situation in southern Africa serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for action to address the impacts of climate change and to support vulnerable communities in adapting to and mitigating these effects.

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