Moroke Sekoboto 

THE European Union (EU) has set aside?€200 000 (M4 million) in humanitarian funding to assist the most vulnerable people affected by last season’s drought. 

According to a statement released by the EU delegation in Maseru this past week, the?funding will support the Lesotho Red Cross Society in delivering much needed assistance to over 2500 families across four of the hardest hit districts, namely; Maseru, Mohale’s Hoek, Qacha’s Nek and Quthing. 

Red Cross will?also?use part of the?funding?to provide?cash grants to 2500 vulnerable families to alleviate the impact of soaring food prices.?Some of the money?will buy and distribute agricultural inputs and seeds, like maize and beans, for planting in the summer, the statement added. 

“The EU funding will support the training of community-based farmer groups on food preservation and climate-smart agriculture.?The funding will also be used for the rehabilitation and/or construction of water facilities within affected communities,”?the?EU said in a statement. 

The ?Red Cross ?will also run an awareness campaign to educate communities on water treatment techniques as well as on effective water management practices. 

The funding forms part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC. 

“In two consecutive seasons of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, Lesotho experienced harsh climate-induced shocks, including hailstorms, pests and heavy rainfall in most parts of the country.? The heavy rainfall experienced in late December 2023 and early 2024 led to waterlogged fields which resulted in crop failure,” EU added. 

“It was followed by exceptionally high temperatures between January and March 2024, leading to widespread crop failure and exacerbating the crop failures from the previous two seasons. The cumulative impact of these shocks led to increased food prices, with about 41% of rural families spending more than half of their income on food. Eight out of ten districts in Lesotho are under a crisis state of food security, meaning that families here have difficulty finding food.”