The devastating impact of one of the worst droughts in living memory is being felt across southern Africa, with close to 70 million people facing severe food and water shortages.
In Mudzi district in northern Zimbabwe, the situation is dire as rivers and dams have dried up, leaving communities struggling to find water sources. In Kurima village, residents are forced to dig into the dry riverbed of the Vombozi river, desperately trying to extract the last drops of water.
Gracious Phiri, a mother of five, spends three hours a day fetching water from the dwindling water source, worried about the health risks of sharing the same pit with cattle for drinking water.
The lack of water is not the only challenge facing the community, as food shortages have also hit hard. A village feeding program, supported by the government and partners like Unicef, is trying to provide nutritious meals for children, but the program is at risk of being suspended due to dwindling food stocks.
The impact of the drought is widespread, with clinics running out of water and major dams having only a month’s supply left. Farmers like Tambudzai Mahachi, who normally supplies markets in Harare with food, are now struggling to feed their own families.
The Southern African Development Community has appealed for aid to combat the effects of the drought, but so far only a fraction of the needed funds have been received. The UN World Food Programme warns that the situation is only going to get worse, with the region facing its largest deficit in maize in 15 years.
As the crisis continues to unfold, the people of southern Africa are bracing themselves for even more challenges ahead, with the peak of the hunger and water crisis yet to come.
