Zimbabwe declares a state of national disaster over drought and its food consequences. The southern African country is in the grip of a severe drought linked to the El Niño climatic phenomenon.
2.7 million people are expected to lack food this year due to poor rains. And cereal harvests should only feed barely more than half of the population, President Emmerson Mnangagwa warned. The state of disaster will allow the government to release exceptional funds to buy cereals from neighboring countries.