The African Union estimates that 485 million people on the continent are directly affected by land degradation, with droughts accounting for over 44% of all global drought-related disasters.
Tahira Mohamed, a research fellow at the Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action, told CGTN Africa that while climate change is the primary driver for droughts, a critical gap remains in disaster preparedness:
“What we need is goodwill from the government, embedding the anticipatory action planning for drought management and also financing, because if you don't finance then the early warnings will not be useful.”