Powerless: The Reality of Food Insecurity and Climate Change in Zambia
As I returned from an evening run, still basking in the smell of fresh soil from a full day of rain and the excitement of seeing a double rainbow — I became pleasantly surprised to see the power had returned. A rarity these days.
I felt giddy with the possibilities that lay ahead — I asked myself whether I should cook something in the oven, make a smoothie in the blender, iron my work clothes, do laundry, or take a hot shower? This excitement however, is always coupled with a sense of urgency. How long has the power been on? Will it go out at any moment? Do I have time to complete a load of laundry before it stops mid-cycle leaving a heap of wet, half-clean clothes in the washer? Soon, I may hear that inevitable dreaded beep signaling the power is out again.
For those who live in Zambia, this dance with the energy company, ZESCO, has become a daily occurrence. The power outages are referred to as load shedding — cutting the power supply to avoid overloading the overall power generating system. As one could imagine, the highly unpredictable load shedding schedule and lack of power for 15–18 hours a day increases the daily struggle of accomplishing basic tasks like cooking, cleaning, or washing clothes. I am extremely privileged to live in a flat that has a generator, which allows for the lights and the refrigerator to remain on. Without a generator, many of my Zambian friends are going to bed without dinner and ironing their work clothes at 1:00 AM, when the power returns.
Since moving to Zambia from the United States in July of last year, a day hasn’t passed without hearing or participating in discussions about load shedding and its connections to climate change and food struggles. I’ve taken a keen interest in the short- and long-term implications of increased power outages happening across the country as it relates to food insecurity and malnutrition, my research focus areas.
According to USAID, 85 percent of Zambia’s power is hydroelectric, with the Kariba Dam as one of the major sources. The Kariba Dam, the largest human-made freshwater reservoir in the world, straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River. With the lowest water levels since 1996, the dam has reached 10 percent storage capacity, per the Zambezi River Authority. The current drought is the worst in decades. When the rains started in November and increased in December, there were jubilations of “imfula nayisa” (Bemba for: the rains have come) with an air of hope that load shedding would lessen. This has sadly not been the case. In some towns, the outages have gotten worse.
The implications of the drought and subsequent power outages are affecting nearly all public and private sectors of Zambia, but the agricultural sector has been particularly hard hit. In anticipation of low crop yields caused by the drought, the Ministry of Agriculture even encouraged farmers to plant an early maize crop. However, due to power cuts, it is still projected that Zambia will lose over 120,000 metric tonnes of maize this year. The drought and subsequent power loss affect farmers’ ability to water their crops, buy fertilizer, and transport their goods to market. The drought has set off a dangerous agricultural chain reaction causing record high prices for mealie meal (maize) in 2019. Nshima, a perfect offspring of mashed potatoes and grits and a diet staple in many households, is made from mealie meal. As this product becomes more difficult to purchase, food insecurity and malnutrition are expected to increase. According to the World Food Programme, as of December 2019, the drought and power outages have left over 2.3 million Zambians severely food insecure.
Call to action: How can we turn the tide on global climate change?
The U.S., the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, is a key contributor to many global environmental stressors like drought and extreme rains. Is it coincidental that in the same era the Trump administration pulls out of the Paris Agreement, Zambia experiences one of the worst droughts in decades? Perhaps. Yet individual Americans like myself should still consider the broader implications of pulling out of the Agreement in regards to agriculture, health, and nutrition. We must do our part in advocating for our country to take ownership in fighting climate change and saving our burning planet. We also must exercise our agency to drive change from the ground up, whether it is through choosing to buy something secondhand instead of brand new, choosing to walk instead of drive, or choosing to reuse a jar rather than throw it away. For humanity’s sake, we need to informally participate in the Paris Agreement and hold ourselves accountable to ensure that no future generations experience a scarcity of water, power, or food in the U.S. or around the world.
If we don’t, climate change will literally render us all powerless.
Rachel Haggard is a 2019–2020 Global Health Corps fellow in Zambia.
Global Health Corps (GHC) is a leadership development organization building the next generation of health equity leaders around the world. All GHC fellows, partners, and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. There is a role for everyone in the movement for health equity. To learn more, visit our website and connect with us on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook.
