(Bloomberg) — The Southern African Development Community has launched a regional humanitarian appeal for at least $5.5 billion in aid to deal with the impact of severe droughts and floods caused by the El Niño weather pattern, it said Monday.
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The severe weather has affected more than 61 million people in the region, the 16-member bloc said in a statement after a summit of heads of state to discuss the disasters that have wiped out crops.
While parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe suffered the worst drought in at least four decades this year, threatening food supplies, countries such as Tanzania were hit by severe flooding. The extreme weather has caused major electricity shortages in Zambia and Zimbabwe, which rely on hydroelectric dams, while also increasing the need for food imports and fueling consumer price inflation.
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