A hunger crisis is growing in Zambia. Over six million people are facing severe food shortages and malnutrition, thanks to a serious drought which has destroyed almost half of planted crops.1
The southern African country had already been reeling from multiple crises. A cholera outbreak has killed more than 700 people. Climate-related disasters such as flooding and extreme temperatures are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. Meanwhile, a precarious economy has been depleted by a protracted debt crisis: inflation has soared while Zambia’s currency, the kwacha, has plummeted in value.
‘People are suffering because of the debt crisis,’ says Precious Kalombwana, a debt and climate activist in Zambia. ‘People are unable to eat, go to school. Health wise, education wise, everything about Zambia is very bad now because we can’t afford anything. We can’t fight a climate disaster like the drought we are facing. Everything is challenging.’
After gaining independence from Britain in 1964, Zambia inherited a weak economy, heavily dependent upon copper exports. For decades since, it has been trapped in a cycle of unsustainable debt and structural adjustment, relying on loans from other governments, institutions like the IMF and banks.
Then in 2020, as Covid-19 gripped Soon 64 states were spending more on debt repayments than they were on public healthcare.
