The World Food Programme is warning millions of people in southern Africa are facing the region’s worst food crisis in decades due to a devastating drought. Five countries — Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have already declared national disasters. The World Food Programme said Tuesday the drought could deepen into a “full-scale humanitarian crisis.”

Tomson Phiri: “A historic drought, the worst food crisis yet, has devastated more than 27 million lives across the region. Some 21 million children in southern Africa are malnourished. For many communities, this is the worst food crisis in decades.”