Southern Africa Food Crisis Appeal

• 25 million people are facing the worst droughts in 40 years.
• Harvests are well below average and livestock are dying.
• Food prices have surged, with inflation rates reaching 42% in Malawi and 84% in Zimbabwe.
• Malnutrition rates are rising, particularly among children, stunting their growth.
• Massive water shortages mean there's an increasing risk of waterborne diseases for millions of people.
• The dry spell is also leaving the region in a water crisis not only affecting people and animals, but regional energy generation.

Oxfam is working with partners and local networks in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique to provide lifesaving support to those affected by the food crisis.

Together, we'll provide essential items such as dignity kits, food, cash assistance and water and sanitation solutions.

Oxfam's humanitarian team respond to emergencies like this by ensuring affected communities can better prepare, react and recover. 

The drought has led to water shortages, exposing people to water borne diseases. This will worsen as the lean season peaks.

We are working with partners to assess the situation to help prevent infectious diseases such as cholera.

Together, we'll be coordinating with the government and local authorities to rehabilitate water systems and improve overall access to water.  

In many areas food prices have surged, affecting households in urgent need of food.

Women and children are among the most at risk, with cases of malnutrition on the rise.

Our teams are working with our partners to:

• Provide food assistance in the coming weeks and months to those affected.
• Offer support and protection to people who have been displaced by the drought.
• Ensure the wellbeing of women and girls who may be more at risk from gender-based violence.
• Offer longer term support to communities and smallholder farmers to provide training and resilience building against future droughts. 

For every £1 you donate to this emergency appeal, we will allocate 9p of your donation to cover general support and running costs. There is a small chance that we will raise more money than is needed for this appeal. If this happens, we’ll spend any additional funds on other Oxfam projects – wherever the need is greatest.