9.8 million people, almost half the population in Zambia, are suffering from an El-Nino-induced drought that has crippled the country since late 2023.
The deteriorating situation has forced countless families to limit their food intake to one meal per day and given the extremely dry conditions, Zambians must now travel longer distances to find water and often the water they do find is from sources also used by animals, exposing them to waterborne diseases.
Zambia is facing one of its worst droughts in history. Of the 9.8 million people affected, 6.6 million need immediate assistance across 84 out of 116 districts in the country.
A Joint Rapid assessment by CARE and their partners in 27 affected districts revealed that 79% of people had poor or borderline food consumption scores, 76% were employing severe food consumption coping strategies including limiting portion size at meals, restricting consumption by adults to allow small children to eat as well as eating 1 meal a day.
Also, 30% of households had changed their water source due to it drying up. Additionally, 89% of households reported no maize grain, the staple food, available on the market.
“We only eat one meal a day, lunch. This has impacted our children severely and we see it every day as they find it hard to wake up in the morning,” said Reicco Mudenda Kamwaya, a 56-year-old mother of five and dedicated leader of 25 farmers in Sikalongo village. “All our produce in the farm withered and died. The grains we had stored from the previous season are depleted. Our animals are dying as they have no pasture or water. We truly are suffering, ” she added.
The drought has dried pasture and water sources needed for irrigation, livestock, and fishing. Water depletion has been felt more in 84 Zambian districts supporting 76% of livestock and 66% of poultry in the country.
Dire situation
“The situation in Zambia is dire and continues to worsen, especially for women and girls. Not only do they have to trek long distances, making them susceptible to sexual and gender-based violence, but when they find water, it is usually not clean putting them and their families at risk of disease,” said, CARE Zambia Country CARE Director, Chikwe Mbweeda.
Most of the farmers we work with, especially women farmers, indicate that they have lost 90% of what they had planted, which puts them and their families in a precarious position. We need to support the affected communities now,” she added.
Appeal
CARE calls on international actors to urgently allocate flexible, multi-year funding to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Zambia. Prioritising local and national NGOs, including local women-led organisations (WLOs), is crucial for an effective response.
Funds should be disbursed promptly and accessible to organisations working directly with local communities. Humanitarian actors must adopt an integrated approach, prioritising gender-responsive and GBV-preventive programming in their response.
Meaningful participation of women and girls is essential for effective humanitarian action. By strengthening WLOs and ensuring their inclusion in coordination structures, we can enhance the overall impact of the response and address the specific needs of women and girls.
The crisis in Zambia is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of climate change. With each passing day, lives hang in the balance. Time is running out for millions of Zambians facing starvation. Their future depends on concerted collective efforts to address the urgent humanitarian catastrophe.
