A total of 45 million people are likely to be food insecure in the next six months in southern Africa because of the "worst drought" in the region in 35 years, the World Food Program announced Thursday.
There are currently 11 million people in serious food insecurity in nine countries in the region (Angola, Swaziland, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), according to a WFP statement.
The situation will worsen in the coming months with "a record 45 million people" who will need food assistance throughout the region, the source said.
Over the last five years, South Africa has had one year of normal rainfall, according to the Food Program, which showed that persistent droughts, cyclones and floods all contributed to crop damage.
"We are facing the worst drought in 35 years in the central and western regions of southern Africa," said Margaret Maul, WFP's Regional Director for Southern Africa.
The food crisis is exacerbated by rising unemployment, large-scale livestock deaths and rising food prices.
"Delayed rainfall with prolonged droughts, two major cyclones and economic challenges have proved catastrophic for food security," said Alan Onibon of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
This year, especially in Mozambique, two devastating cyclones hit hundreds of thousands of people.
"We must meet the urgent food needs of millions of people and also invest to provide means to allow people threatened by drought, floods and storms that are becoming more frequent and dangerous, to survive," he said.
The program said Malawi, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe will be the countries most affected in the region in the coming years by this climate crisis.