The WFP told Reuters it needed urgent funding for six months to support drought relief in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi after harvests fell as a result of an El Niño-induced drought that has affected 4.8 million people.

El Niño, a weather phenomenon that disrupts wind patterns and warms the temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean, can impact crop yields by reducing rain levels.

"It's fair to say this will probably be the biggest El Niño response we have ever done in Southern Africa," WFP Spokesperson Tomson Phiri told Reuters.

About 70% of the Southern African population that relies on rain-fed agriculture had their harvests "wiped out" by lack of rains, Phiri added.

--Reuters--