Zimbabwe battles aid shortages as drought bites

Enny Nyashanu, an 83-year-old grandmother, benefits from WFP food handouts.

“Our region is prone to drought. Aid agencies come to our rescue each year when crops fail. We cannot continue to rely on aid,” says Nyashanu.

Her words reveal a long-held existential concern that has been thrust into a sobering reality in 2025.

Families in Southern Africa, like Nyashanu’s, fear for their survival in the coming years if American aid is completely withdrawn.

Ominously, the UN World Food Program (WFP), which relies on American funding for nearly half its budget, has closed its Southern Africa bureau as the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda slashes aid.

The sudden move came despite an El Niño induced drought causing Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia to declare national disasters in 2024.

The WFP was already short on funding, having raised just one fifth of the $400 million needed for drought response in seven countries last year.

WFP braces for further funding constraints

Regional spokesperson for the WFP, Tomson Phiri, said the agency would run operations for eastern and southern Africa from Nairobi.

“The goal is to stretch every dollar and target maximum resources to our frontline teams,” he told DW, adding the closure would not affect country operations in Southern Africa.

It is yet unclear how much funding the WFP will lose due to American aid cuts.

The US is the single largest donor to the WFP – which gives food and cash assistance to people suffering from hunger due to crop shortages, conflict and climate change worldwide.

In 2024, the US accounted for $4.5 billion of its $9.8 billion budget.

The WFP says overall, more than 60% of the food it procures is used in operations in the same region it was purchased.

Separately, the Trump administration intends on cutting more than 90% of the USAID foreign aid contracts and more than $58 billion in overall American assistance projects worldwide.

The WFP warned the “scale of this disruption underscores the far-reaching consequences of the funding pause on global food assistance efforts” and added it was still assessing the impact of vulnerable beneficiaries.

In February, the US foreign aid funding pause disrupted an estimated over 507 000 metric tons of food aid, valued at more than $340 million – despite the existence of a waiver for emergency food assistance.

Positive outlook for the region

Despite erratic rain patterns experienced in December to January, some Southern African countries are anticipating a good harvest.

According to World Bank assessments, countries like Zimbabwe are projected to record 6% economic growth driven by the anticipated agriculture recovery in 2025.

Agriculture remains the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, and its recovery has a positive impact on other sectors.

Back in Manicaland, Enny Nyashanu says climate proofing and construction of dams for small scale farmers could be an immediate solution to wean her community off donor aid.

Nyashanu told DW:

But observers say reducing over-reliance on rain dependent agriculture is another key to long term solutions.

“It is clear the region is going to experience more frequent droughts. There is need to invest more in irrigation infrastructure to allow people to grow food regardless of change in climate,” said Tomson Phiri of the WFP told DW.

“We want to see this being extended beyond the main food producing countries such as South Africa. We know the tools, governments know the tools, all that is needed is implementation,” he added.

Farmers have begun implementing conservation agriculture methods and planting drought resistant crops. In the long term, this is expected to boost food security and cut off over reliance on aid.