Zambia, Africa | Drought Response – Emergency Response Strategy for Operational Emergency Response №: MDRZM022 – Zambia

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Zambia is experiencing one of the driest agricultural seasons in over four decades, resulting in significant losses of crops and livestock, and severely impacting the well-being and livelihoods of communities across the country. According to ongoing UN reports, 84 of the country’s 116 districts are affected by this crisis. The August 2023 IPC report2 projected that an estimated 58,000 people would be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) between October 2023 and March 2024, and two million people would be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. On 29 February 2024, the President of Zambia declared a national emergency due to the ongoing drought. On 16 April 2024, the Joint Rapid Needs Assessment 3 commissioned by the Agriculture and Food Security Cluster and the National Government Drought Response Appeal indicated that 6.6 million people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance (33 percent of Zambia’s total population according to World Bank data). This includes more than three million children under the age of 18, mainly living in Lusaka, Luapula, and Western, Eastern, Southern, Central and North-Western provinces. According to the assessment report, the three largest provinces with more than 1.3 million people in need are Western, Southern and North-Western provinces. The report also highlights that many households are struggling to meet their basic needs, including access to food, with many resorting to negative coping mechanisms. Although most households surveyed reported growing maize and other crops in the 2023/2024 season, expected production levels were minimal and most households reported total crop failures, mainly due to prolonged droughts. Livestock and fisheries are also affected by the drying up of water sources. Almost half of households surveyed with livestock reported a decrease in pasture, mainly for livestock, while 39 percent reported an increase in the distance to water points. The country is still recovering from a cholera outbreak that began in October 2023, with more than 21,000 cases reported. Reduced access to water has also led to outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and other vector-borne diseases, exacerbating the health crisis. The IFRC, in support of the Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS), launched a Cholera Emergency Appeal in October 2023. Zambia also has regions that are prone to malaria, which can increase once water bodies and sources start to dry up, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In response to the increasing impact of the drought in Zambia, the IFRC, in support of the ZRCS, is appealing for CHF 11 million (federation-wide) to scale up its activities, initially funded by the DREF.