Zimbabwe residents are facing starvation after a severe drought affected food harvests.
What We Know:
- Between the months of October and May, a powerful cyclone ripped through the eastern parts of the country resulting in a major ongoing drought in Zimbabwe.
- More than a third of Zimbabwe population will need food assistance by the year 2020. “The drought has also depleted water sources leaving more than two million unable to access clean water in the country,” according to CNN.
- Food prices are also beginning to increase due to limited supply.
- 30-year-old resident Roseline Marenyi is a mother of two who stated that she can only afford two meals a day, her children’s nutrition is in jeopardy. She is poorer this year than any other year.
- The World Food Programme has launched a humanitarian appeal for $331 million to assist those affected. “We are talking about people who truly are marching towards starvation if we are not here to help them. We are facing a drought unlike any that we have seen in a long time,” David Beasley said during the launch of the aid program in the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe is in a state of emergency and millions may die of starvation.