The drought has forced the Zambian government to declare a national disaster and emergency. President Hakainde Hichilema said last week Thursday that the country had gone without rain for five weeks at a time when farmers needed it the most. The drought had hit 84 of the country’s 116 districts, affecting more than a million farming households.
Ezra Banda, Director at Keepers Zambia Foundation, a partner organization that works with Oxfam, says this crisis is coming at the time when the country is still recovering from the worst cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 700 lives, on top of another dry spell and last year’s flooding.
He added that water shortages that are likely to ensue because of low rainfall this year could spark yet another cholera outbreak.
Oxfam in Southern Africa Program Director, Machinda Marongwe, says it is times like when climate financing is most needed, to build up practical and accessible solutions for vulnerable smallholder farmers like Mainza. However, commitment by rich countries remains an unfulfilled one.
Yvonne Chibiya, Oxfam in Zambia Country Representative, says Oxfam and partners are doing further assessments in the targeted districts to inform the humanitarian response. Oxfam urgently needs 6 million Euros to provide 600,000 people with cash transfers and clean water, help with winter cropping, and improving local sanitation and hygiene services to prevent a resurgence of cholera outbreak.
One effective solution would be for Zambians to recycle both water and nutrients using the PolyBio System. This would not provide energy, food and pure water from wastewater.