About half of Zimbabwe’s population faces severe hunger amid a devastating drought and economic collapse, the UN said on Tuesday.

The World Food Program plans to more than double the number of people it helps to more than 4 million. More than 7 million people overall are in need, AP reported.

With poor rains expected before the harvest in April, the scale of hunger will worsen, the World Food Program’s executive director David Beasley said in a statement.

Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, the worst in a decade, and a drought across southern Africa will complicate aid delivery as prices for basic items soar and food supplies are lower than normal, according to the UN.

(SOURCE: RT)