No food, no pasture for livestock – Endjala

Omusati governor Erginus Endjala says many people in the region are facing severe food insecurity as they have no food and no pasture for livestock.

Endjala says more interventions are needed to assist communities severely affected by the prolonged drought.

He said this during the official handover of boreholes at Ombabihaka village at Ruacana last week.

“People living in the rural areas are most affected by the drought. They do not have food to eat and there are no grazing pastures for their livestock. If you look around, it is dry everywhere and even the mahangu fields did not yield anything this year. Water scarcity is also another challenge faced by our people,” he said.

On 22 May, the government declared a state of emergency following the worst drought Namibia has experienced in the last 100 years.

According to media reports, one in five Namibians is considered food insecure.

Against the backdrop of scarce rain, over 331 000 households have already registered for the government-funded drought relief programme.

United Nations Development Programme country representative Alka Bhatia, during the same event, said Namibia has faced severe droughts in recent years, worsened by the effects of climate change.

“This has led to a persistent challenge of accessing clean and reliable water sources, particularly in the northern regions. The limited availability of water has aggravated environmental degradation, undermined livelihoods and impeded the overall development of these communities,” she said.

She said water scarcity has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable members of these communities.

“Women and girls have been forced to walk long distances to reach the nearest water points, often facing overcrowding and long waiting times. This time consuming task has limited their ability to engage in other productive activities, such as education, income generating opportunities and community participation,” said Bhatia.