Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
African finance ministers at the African Development Bank (AfDB)annual meetings in Lusaka have been urged to step up and respond to the super-El Niño events ravaging East and Southern Africa.
Sipho Mthathi
The ministers are being reminded to be wary that over 50 million people face food shortages across Eastern and Southern Africa due to poor harvests last season and extreme El Niño weather.
In a statement made available to Qfm News Oxfam South Africa Executive Director Sipho Mthathi has observed that this year’s Annual Meetings present a strategic moment for the AfDB.
Ms. Mthathi says the AfDB should show leadership and solidarity with African countries grappling with the humanitarian crisis caused by climate change.
She has urged the Bank to steer the continent towards clean, pro-poor energy and help small farmers adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
Ms. Mthathi notes that the Bank should keep in mind that due to El Niño-induced droughts and floods in East and Southern Africa, millions of people do not have enough to eat or access to clean water.
She says her organization has taken note that people had to sell their assets, and many have lost livestock a situation which she says has left millions in a precarious position.