Communities across eastern and southern Africa are grappling with historic drought conditions that have left an estimated 90 million people facing acute food shortages, according to a new report by leading international agencies.
The joint analysis, published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the US National Drought Mitigation Centre (NDMC), and the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), describes the unfolding crisis as one of the most destructive and far-reaching drought events in human history. It attributes the worsening situation to a combination of environmental degradation and accelerating climate change.
From 2023 to 2025, drought has ravaged harvests, decimated livestock, and plunged millions deeper into poverty and hunger while undermining energy security and inflicting severe economic damage globally. Zimbabwe, for instance, saw its 2024 maize harvest collapse by 70% compared to the previous year. Prices of maize have since doubled, while 9,000 cattle have perished due to water scarcity and starvation.
Somalia remains one of the hardest-hit nations, with 43,000 deaths in 2022 alone linked directly to hunger exacerbated by drought. By early 2025, one in four Somalis is experiencing food insecurity at crisis levels.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Operations and Emergencies, Judith Leveille, highlighted the critical strain on nutrition stabilisation centres across northern states. During a recent press briefing in Abuja focused on malnutrition emergencies and EU humanitarian support for Benue State crisis victims, Leveille praised the resilience and dedication of frontline health workers battling severe child malnutrition.
“We met nurses and doctors who work tirelessly with Nigerian medical teams to save children’s lives. Their commitment is truly admirable,” she said.
However, Leveille warned that the situation is deteriorating rapidly, with essential nutrition supplies running dangerously low. “The lean season’s peak is still about three weeks away and will persist for over a month. What we witnessed in Sokoto reflects a widespread emergency affecting many northern communities,” she cautioned.
The report underscores that countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe continue to face repeated crop failures, threatening millions with hunger and worsening regional instability as the global climate crisis intensifies.
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It noted that the effects have also disrupted energy systems.
In Zambia, drought has led to one of the world’s worst energy crises. In April 2025, the Zambezi River fell to just 20 percent of its long-term average, pushing the Kariba Dam, the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, to only 7 percent generation capacity.
The UN report said the resulting 21-hour daily blackouts forced the closure of hospitals, bakeries, and factories.
A recent UN report has laid bare the extensive and far-reaching consequences of escalating drought conditions across multiple continents, revealing impacts that extend far beyond Africa’s borders.
The report detailed that in some regions of Africa, severe energy shortages have resulted in up to 21 hours of daily blackouts, forcing critical facilities such as hospitals, bakeries, and factories to shut down operations, deepening economic hardship and threatening lives.
In Europe, Spain has faced its own climate-linked crisis, with two consecutive years of drought and unprecedented heatwaves leading to a drastic decline in olive harvests. By September 2023, olive oil production had fallen by half, causing prices to surge to record levels.
Türkiye is also confronting alarming environmental consequences. Excessive groundwater extraction, exacerbated by persistent drought, is causing widespread sinkholes that now threaten buildings, roads, and vital infrastructure while steadily depleting aquifer reserves essential for long-term water security.
Meanwhile, in South America’s Amazon Basin, the prolonged dry seasons of 2023 and 2024 have pushed river levels to record lows. This environmental disruption has resulted in mass deaths of fish and freshwater dolphins, curtailed access to clean water, and severely hampered transportation for hundreds of thousands of people living along the waterways. Scientists warn that ongoing deforestation and rampant fires are accelerating the risk of the Amazon losing its status as a critical carbon sink, potentially transforming into a net carbon emitter.
Global trade has also been caught in the drought’s grip. The Panama Canal, a vital artery for international shipping, witnessed transit volume plummet by over one-third due to low water levels. This bottleneck triggered delays in US soybean exports and contributed to product shortages in supermarkets across the United Kingdom.