Zambia declares state of disaster due to drought

LUSAKA, Zambia

The Zambian government on Thursday declared a national state of disaster and emergency to enable a rapid response to the prolonged drought, which threatens national food security and electricity shortages.

President Hakainde Hichilema said the decision was made following an assessment of the prolonged drought, which has affected 84 of the country's 116 districts. "The disaster and emergency are severe, and the government is responding with urgency," he said during a national address on the drought situation.

He said that an assessment conducted revealed that about 1 million hectares out of the planted 2.2 million hectares of farmland have been impacted by the dry spell, affecting over 1 million farming households.

He noted that the situation entails a shift of resources toward humanitarian assistance and called for prudent resource utilization.

The government, he said, will implement measures to import electricity and rationing as the country faces an electricity deficit of 430 megawatts, which may reach 520 megawatts by December 2024. He also requested assistance from cooperating partners to moderate the negative effects of the drought caused by climate change.

The Zambian president said that the government, as a long-term measure, will enhance water harvesting mechanisms to enable precision and other irrigation development to stimulate agricultural production.