Southern and Western Provinces are hotter and drier than the rest of the country.
Consequently, these regions are more likely to suffer from drought.
In times of drought The Butterfly Tree provides emergency food relief to rural areas and school children. In 2019 many people in rural areas were eating only one meal a day, others relying on neighbours to share their food, and for some the famine was already apparent.
The 2024 drought was devastating – people were going days without food. Malnutrition was recorded in both children and adults, some resulting in deaths. During both periods The Butterfly Tree provided 20,000 households with bags of maize throughout the Kazungula District of Southern Province.
