Nairobi, Kenya
Christian leaders in Zimbabwe are urging the government, non-government organisations, and well-wishers to intervene by helping millions of residents affected by the prolonged drought.
The Southern African nation of more than 16 million people is experiencing an El Nino-induced drought that has scorched crops and left millions hungry. The country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 3rd April declared a national disaster over a drought, saying the landlocked country needs $US2 billion in aid to help millions of people who are going hungry.
A wilted maize crop is seen in Mumijo, Buhera district east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, on 16th March, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo/File photo
In rural Zimbabwe, 80 per cent of the population relies on subsistence rainfed agriculture for their livelihoods. However, according to Mnangagwa, the devastating crops during the region’s peak agricultural season from October, 2023, to March, 2024, have left more than 2.7 million people without enough food.
“No Zimbabwean must succumb or die from hunger,” Mnangagwa told a press conference. “To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide state of disaster due to the El Niño-induced drought.”
Zimbabwe‘s President Emmerson Mnangagwa delivers his State of the Nation address during which he declared drought, induced by El Nino, a national disaster, at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 3rd April, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
The announcement has prompted the church leaders to start sourcing and distributing food to thousands of families, especially those from poor and vulnerable households in dire need of immediate food assistance. The leaders have also intensified their appeal, calling for concerted efforts to provide food to starving people nationwide.
Maize, beans, rice, cooking oil, salts, maize flour, and porridge flour are among the items being sourced and distributed to the affected families.
“People are suffering because the drought has affected the growth and yield of maize, which is a staple food for people of this country,” said Evangelist John Chikeya, who is helping distribute food donated by well-wishers in rural villages of southern Zimbabwe. “The situation is getting worse, and I appeal to all Christians, well-wishers, and NGOs to make donations towards alleviating the famine affecting people who are in dire need of food.”
On 4th April, Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe appealed to faith-based organisations, international agencies, and other donors to intervene and save millions of people from starvation. The church leaders said they were already mobilising food items and cash to save thousands of people facing starvation. The drought also affects neighbouring countries, including Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar.
“We all have a duty and an obligation to care for those in need, more so those who are left exposed by the effects of the drought,” members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference said in a statement on 4th April. “Now is the time for us to rise and meet the challenge. Together, we are stronger and can feed the multitudes.”
Nyasa Manonoke, 69, collects her monthly allocations of food aid provided by the World Food Program (WFP) in Mumijo, Buhera district east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, on 16th March, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo/File photo
In their statement, the Catholic Bishops appealed for help from humanitarian agencies and other well-wishers to “put our resources together and avert the many deaths that may be caused by the drought.”
“When the little that we have is generously put at the hands of the Lord, he multiplies it, and all will have their fill,” the bishops said.
Meanwhile, Evangelist Chikeya opined that residents should be encouraged to cultivate drought-tolerant crops to help mitigate the effects of drought if they were to avoid the recurrence of hunger brought by severe drought affecting crops and cattle every few years.
“We need to find a solution to this drought situation, and the solution is to cultivate drought-tolerant crops always to provide relief to our farmers during dry seasons,” he said, noting that the drought-tolerant crops such as green grams, ground nuts, sorghum, millets, and cowpeas should be promoted in communities to mitigate the effects of climate change.
