United Nations Responds to Zambia’s Drought Disaster and Emergency

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United Nations Responds to Zambia’s Drought Disaster and Emergency

Lusaka, 4 March 2024 – In response to the Presidential declaration of the drought national disaster and emergency in Zambia, the United Nations (UN) is working with the Government in preparing a drought response plan to support affected households in 84 severely affected districts across seven provinces.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Zambia, Beatrice Mutali, says the UN family has been getting ready to support Zambia and recently developed a Multi-hazard Preparedness and Response Plan to help the country to navigate challenges posed by the onset of El Niño conditions and climate change, as well as the unprecedented ongoing cholera outbreak.

“With the drought response plan, we expect the government to launch a humanitarian appeal that we hope will enable us to mobilize about USD30 million to provide humanitarian support, livelihoods recovery, and resilience building for the over 1 million households of which a significant number are children, at risk of food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and disease,” Ms Mutali said.

The dry spell has from mid-January this year affected most of the central and southern half of the country, that has received less than normal rainfall leaving 1 million hectares of maize destroyed, almost half of the country’s maize cultivation. It is also projected that the drought will lead to a power deficit or 430 Megawatts and affect ground and surface water levels, with severe consequences for sectors beyond agriculture since +80 per cent of Zambia electricity generation comes from hydropower.

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For more information, please contact:

Mark Maseko, National Information Officer

United Nations Information Centre, Lusaka

P: +260-211-386200

E: [email protected]