At-risk populations in the Southern Africa region face conflict-induced displacement, disease, food insecurity, and numerous natural hazards—including drought, floods, locusts infestations, and tropical cyclones—that generate widespread humanitarian need, with Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe acutely affected by extreme weather events. Climatic shocks have induced large-scale crop failure in recent years, heightening food insecurity regionally and eroding affected populations’ ability to access safe drinking water and maintain livelihoods, the UN reports. Food prices have risen significantly in many drought-affected areas, leaving households unable to afford basic items and children without access to a nutritious diet. Across Southern Africa, people are also facing severe water shortages as water sources dry up, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases amid an ongoing cholera outbreak since late 2022. Elevated food prices and water shortages also exacerbate already-high levels of acute food insecurity across Southern Africa, particularly as 70 percent of smallholder farmers in the region rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods.
In response to widespread humanitarian need, USAID provides critical humanitarian funding to seven countries across the region. USAID partners deliver life-saving relief—including agriculture, food, health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance—to populations in need across Southern Africa.
