Two United Nations agencies have issued a joint appeal for funds ahead of the expected impact on millions of poor people of the El Niño weather phenomenon later this year and into 2027.
El Niño, which occurs every few years, brings floods to some parts of the world and drought to others, including Southern Africa.
This year’s El Niño is expected to be particularly harsh, leading to the joint appeal from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme. This is the first time they have sought funds ahead of an expected humanitarian disaster, instead of reacting afterwards.
They are looking for a $202-milliion fund which they say would enable them to protect 8.8 million food-insecure people at risk from the predicted El Niño impacts.
“Strong El Niño conditions are developing, threatening food security, agriculture and livelihoods across multiple regions into 2027,” the agencies said.
“This El Niño is expected to bring significantly drier conditions to Southern Africa, Central America, parts of Asia and the Pacific, and Eastern Africa, while increasing the likelihood of floods and storms in the Horn of Africa and parts of Asia.”
Prioritised high-risk countries include Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Anticipatory actions include cash transfers, seeds of drought-tolerant or flood-resistant varieties, livestock support, and flood defences or water storage systems.
“For a vulnerable family, this means the difference between hunger and food on the table, a failed harvest or a productive one, and children who receive daily milk or go without it,” the agencies stated.
Stressing the need for urgent “anticipatory action at scale”, they said El Niño was converging with the economic consequences of the Iran conflict.
“Soaring food, fuel and fertiliser prices are already undermining food production and access in some of the world’s most vulnerable, food-insecure countries”.
