By Staff Reporter
President Hakainde Hichilema says 9.8 million people have been adversely affected by the drought, and of these 6.6 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance
“On Thursday 29th February 2024, we declared the country’s drought as a national disaster and emergency. To respond to the adverse effects of the drought, emphasis is being placed on the provision of food assistance to the people in need, as well as interventions for early recovery and resilience building, going forward. We are placing special focus on investments in water development for agricultural, and energy production, as well as the provision of water to households, livestock and wildlife,” President Hichilema said. “In addition, there will be robust interventions in health, nutrition, tourism, and protection of the citizenry, as well as the environment and wildlife.”
President Hichilema said in order to effectively implement immediate life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian and recovery needs, a total of 23.5 billion Zambian kwacha, translating to 940.6 million United States dollars is urgently required. Of this amount, 1.3 billion Zambian Kwacha, equivalent to 51.2 million united state dollars is available leaving a financing gap of 22.2 billion Zambian Kwacha, equivalent to 889.4 million United States dollars. To be specific, 12.6 billion Kwacha is required for immediate food assistance, out of which 28.3 million kwacha is available, leaving a gap of about 12.54 billion kwacha,” President Hichilema said. “For the education sector, particularly in expanding the school feeding programme, a sum of 784 million Kwacha is urgently required. In the health sector, 2.5 billion Kwacha is required, out of which 51.7 million Kwacha is available, leaving a gap of 2.45 billion.”
The country has been hit hard by the droughts during this ending rain season, leading to challenges in crop failure and the ongoing punishing 8-hour load shedding affecting the citizens. Economists project that the country’s economy will suffer several setbacks in several sectors.
