Source: Save the Children
Two neighbouring southern Africa nations are battling completely opposite weather disasters this month, with Zambia experiencing its worst drought in two decades while Malawi battles floods that have displaced thousands, Save the Children said.
Rains have failed in Zambia for seven weeks consecutively at a time when farming families needed it most, with almost half of the nation’s planted area destroyed, according to the Zambian President. Farming families have lost one million hectares (2.5 million acres) from 2.2 million planted crops due to the influence of El Nino on the 2023-2024 rainy season, with the prolonged dry spell decimating crops and drying up water sources.
In neighbouring Malawi, heavy rainfall in the central parts of the country led to the death of six people last week, including two children after their houses were washed away by raging floods. The heavy downpour has caused widespread flooding and displaced more than 14,000 people in Nkhotakota District, with several areas cut-off after floodwaters destroyed roads and other infrastructure including critical bridges. The current rains are devastating the same communities who were heavily impacted by Cyclone Freddy last year.
At least nine schools are being used as camps for displaced families, affecting access to education for thousands of children. Fears of disease outbreaks including malaria are spreading fueled by congestion and poor sanitary conditions in the camps.
Save the Children is calling for urgent national and international intervention to provide families and children with basic services including food and water in Zambia and Malawi. Many of the displaced families forced to move to higher ground in Malawi, including hundreds of children, are now in critical need of emergency supplies like food, shelter, clean water, and toilets.
James- is a 14 -year-old boy from Nkhotakota district in Malawi. He is now living with his parents and young brother in a camp for displaced people after extreme floods engulfed their home and thriving grocery store in the village.
He told Save the Children: ” At first, I thought my younger brother had wet the bed, then we discovered water had flooded our room. Hurriedly, we alerted our parents and realized the extent of the devastation as we made our way to higher ground. Our kitchen was gone, and our entire village was being engulfed by the rising waters.
“In the rush to escape, we salvaged only a few belongings, losing everything else, including my personal possessions. My father was successful businessman (who) operated a thriving grocery store in our village, but it too was swept away. Our family, once secure and prosperous, now faces an uncertain future.”
Lucy-, 13, is also living in a camp for displaced children with her family in Malawi. She said:
” The flooding took away everything from me. Life in the camp is really boring. I don’t have any fri
