The extreme weather events have hit parts of Africa relentlessly in the last three years, with tropical storms, floods and drought causing crises of famine and displacement, and leaving another deadly threat in their aftermath: some of the continent's worst outbreaks of cholera.

Extreme weather attributed to the El Nino phenomenon is causing a surge in hunger in several countries, including Zambia and Afghanistan, the UN’s World Food Programme said Wednesday, and called on donors for much-needed help.