DAKAR: Tens of millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa are going hungry due to erratic weather and the situation is set to worsen as the El Nino weather pattern reaches its peak, the Red Cross said on Monday as it launched funding appeals for six countries.

Some 60 million people do not have enough to eat due to floods, droughts and irregular rains which have ruined harvests and left many people dependent on food aid, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

The IFRC has appealed for eight million Swiss francs ($8.2 million) to help more than 200,000 people in Gambia, Mauritania, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal and Zimbabwe ahead of what is expected to be the strongest El Nino on record.

The phenomenon, caused by Pacific Ocean warming, is likely to cause flooding in equatorial Africa, and drought in southern Africa and the Sahel, and has prompted several aid agencies, including Oxfam and Care International, to warn of its impact.

“Many families are surviving on one meal a day made from leaves, which have very little nutritional value, or... even going without food for days because of the erratic rainfall,” IFRC operations manager Miriam Grove said in a statement.

The funding will provide urgent food aid and set up initiatives to prepare communities for further erratic weather in the six countries, and the IFRC said it would also invest in food security programmes for millions across Africa.

Published in Dawn, October 6th , 2015

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