UNICEF has called for urgent funding to scale up programs across six drought-affected countries in Southern Africa, where nearly 300,000 children face severe acute malnutrition. The UN Children's Fund highlighted the severe threat posed by increasing food insecurity, malnutrition, challenges in accessing safe water and sanitation, and the risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera.

The organization warned that 7.4 million children in Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are experiencing child food poverty, with over 2 million surviving on extremely poor diets that consist of at most two food groups. The drought has exacerbated these conditions, causing communities to lose crops and livestock due to a lack of pasture and water.

El Niño-related weather conditions, including extremely low rainfall, have led Lesotho to declare a state of national food disaster, following similar declarations by Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These climate shocks are significantly impacting vulnerable children by reducing the quantity, diversity, and quality of available food, disrupting access to clean and safe water, and exposing children to life-threatening diseases such as diarrhea.

UNICEF emphasized the importance of innovative collaboration and financing, including community engagement initiatives like mother-led care groups in Zimbabwe and large-scale multi-sectoral nutrition programs in Zambia, to support children and families and protect them from the severe consequences of climate crises. The organization called for investment in frameworks that build family and societal resilience, including diverse food systems, clean water, sanitation services, climate-informed education, and climate-responsive healthcare. UNICEF also appealed for safeguarding key services and systems for children to ensure quality and uninterrupted access.