Windhoek
Germany, through the Namibian-German Special Initiative Project (NGSIP), is to spend more than N$117 million in the drought-stricken Kunene Region before the end of the year.
Targeting the most vulnerable people in seven regions, the project has since its inception uplifted communities through a wide-ranging programme in the Erongo, Hardap, //Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Otjozondjupa and Omaheke regions.
The NGSIP is committed to finalising 45 projects in Kunene – the region hardest hit by consecutive dry spells and droughts since 2012.
Grazing and livelihoods have rapidly deteriorated as the dry spell worsens in Kunene, which has only received some 80 millimetres of rain this season.
Kunene is also seriously affected by a water crisis following erratic rainfall this year and the NGSIP is conducting a total of 115 projects in searching for water and rehabilitating existing water infrastructure.
With food hard to come by, drought-stricken families have turned to Namibia Red Cross Society soup kitchens for nourishment.
Amid the worst drought in 80 years, rates of malnutrition, already above the accepted threshold, are rising in Namibia. At least 16 percent of the population needs urgent food support and a refreshed drought aid relief programme is expected soon.
Namibia is currently experiencing chronic food insecurity as a result of drought due to abnormally low rainfall between October 2014 and February 2016, the active rainfall period for commonly grown crops.
Assessments indicate it is the worst crop performance in 80 years with cereal output in 2015 declining 43 percent from the year before. An estimated 578 480 people have been affected with at least 16 percent of the population in need of urgent food support, now and through the next harvest.
Since 2015, over 300 people, mainly women and children, have been walking long distances every day to reach the Red Cross soup kitchen in Opuwo, Kunene Region. Most fled their villages after losing their cattle and crops to the drought. They are now squatting with family members in Opuwo.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies earlier this year launched an emergency appeal for 950 205 Swiss francs to support the Namibia Red Cross Society in its efforts.
The NGSIP projects include donations of livestock to farmers, borehole maintenance, supplying solar power plants, building school hostels and houses and rehabilitation of boreholes in all of Kunene. The projects are focused on Epupa, Sesfontein, Opuwo and Outjo.
School, youth and sport facilities and others include 41 projects in Kunene, Erongo, Otjozondjupa, Omaheke and //Karas regions, while multi-purpose cultural centres and commercial centre projects are being conducted in Kunene, Erongo, Omaheke, Hardap and //Karas.
Agricultural projects for livestock and gardens consist of 32 projects while 115 water supply projects are in progress. Other projects include latrines, roads, fire trucks, school computers and quarantine camps.