More than 52 million people across 18 countries in southern, east, and central Africa are facing crisis levels of hunger due to weather extremes, according to a new report by UK-based charity Oxfam.
Warnings like this are becoming a regular occurrence, as climate change increases the severity and frequency of extreme weather on the continent.
This year is proving to be particularly bad. It’s estimated that at least 2.6 million people were displaced by extreme weather across the continent in the first six months of 2019 alone.
The trend underlines Africa’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, and the urgent need for more action on adaptation and mitigation.
The prospects for this are grim.
The UN estimates that $2.4 trillion is needed annually to slow down the effects of climate change by 2035. Current commitments fall well short of this, and of the money that is available, almost nothing is going to the world’s least developed economies.
Money isn’t the only problem. While most governments pay lip service to the need for more action, it is – in reality – not a priority for many. The African Union doesn’t even have a special envoy for climate change.
It smacks of the tendency to view climate change as a far away, almost abstract problem. It’s anything but.
This report reflects the views of the author alone, not those of How we made it in Africa.
Today’s picks
From the continent
Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have agreed to end their dispute over the construction of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam by January 15, 2020, following talks in Washington. Tensions over the project, centred on its effect on water supplies from the Nile, have stifled its development since construction began in 2011. More: Xinhua
South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir and former rebel turned opposition leader Riek Machar agreed on Thursday to delay the formation of a unity government by at least 100 days beyond a November 12 deadline. There are growing concerns that disagreement about forming a coalition government could derail a peace deal signed in September 2018 meant to end years of civil war. More: News24
The global perspective
Canada’s Semafo has suspended operations at its Boungou mine in Burkina Faso following an attack on a convoy belonging to the company on Thursday, leaving at least 37 people dead. The attack is part of escalating Islamist militancy in west Africa’s restive Sahel region, amid stalling counter-terrorism efforts. More: Mining.com
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has filed for approval from European regulators for a new experimental Ebola vaccine. This is currently being deployed in Democratic Republic of Congo. More: Al Jazeera
