The World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that 14 million people were facing hunger in Southern Africa due to prolonged dry spells that led to a poor harvest last year.
UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said on Tuesday in New York at a daily briefing that El Nino global weather event was leading to even worse drought across the region and was already affecting this year's crop
He said the number of people without enough food could rise significantly over coming months as the region moved deeper into the so-called lean season.
He said a data from the WFP, showed that the worst affected countries by last year's poor rains are Malawi, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
Haq said Lesotho had declared a drought emergency last month and one third of the population does not have enough food.
He said also of concern were the situations in Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland.
Haq said the warm-water phenomenon, El Nino, had dried up rainfall across southern Africa over the last year, killing crops and disrupting hydropower production.
He disclosed that South Africa, previously an exporter of grain, would have to import 5 to 6 million tons of maize due to the severe drought.
The spokesperson said this year, high temperatures, low rains in spite of being in the rainy season, weaker food production and more threats of food insecurity, all ascribed to El Nino, were expected to continue to exert negative impact on the region.
CREDIT:NAN
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