Worst drought in 40 years leads to rising hunger and severe food shortages in Angola
Severe food shortage and hunger are on the rise in Angola as the country is gripped by its worst drought in nearly four decades, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on March 26, 2021.
The rainy season in Angola, which typically runs from November to April, is being hampered by an abnormal dry spell, affecting crops and livestock, as well as millions of people living in the southwestern provinces.
Since December 2020, the country has been experiencing episodes of drought, with below-average rainfall in the provinces of Benguela, Cuanza Sul, Huambo, Huila, and Namibe.
According to WFP, the situation will remain grim in the coming months due to the absence of above-average rainfall.
Worrying reports of people fleeing in #Angola and #Namibia in search for water.
Some years ago, droughts happened once every 10 years. Now the region continues to experience a long-lasting drought cycle that has affected thousands of people since 2012. pic.twitter.com/kD0qMAhUqm
— Alexandra Bilak (@AlexandraBilak) March 26, 2021
@WFP & @FAO's #Hunger #Hotspots signal the looming impacts of another dry season in Angola.
Our near real-time data highlights the severity of this situation, w/ about 2M more now reporting insufficient food consumption from last month.
Access the #datahttps://t.co/CO45JhEcQ0 pic.twitter.com/qHjOscfYeR
— mVAM (@mobileVAM) March 29, 2021
As water supply decreases, severely affecting crops and livestock, with losses estimated up to 40 percent, WFP warned of rising food insecurity and malnutrition rates in the worst-hit areas.
"The situation is also reportedly giving rise to migratory movements from the most affected areas with families moving towards other provinces and across the border to Namibia," the organization wrote.
"WFP is now coordinating food security and nutrition assessments in the south of the country with an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis expected by the end of May."
Featured image credit: Flickr
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