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International day for the eradication of poverty
National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in Zimbabwe (NANGO)
October 17, 2008

The National Association of Non Governmental Organisations representing Non Governmental Organisations operating in Zimbabwe joins the global community in commemorating the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. NANGO embraces this day as an opportunity to show solidarity with the poor, to acknowledge the struggle of people living in poverty and to give the poor the chance to make their concerns heard.

From the 17th -19th of October NANGO will join its membership and other stakeholders to mobilise citizens around the country in furtherance of the Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty Campaign. The Campaign will this year attempt at breaking the record set in 2007 of mobilising more than ten thousand citizens to symbolically show their support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. [This is in spite of an operating environment that is not permissive of the full enjoyment of the fundamental freedoms of association, assembly and speech that a critical for mass mobilisation.]

Zimbabwe can no longer sustain the lack of progress and reversals in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The entrenchment of poverty and inequality represent the mass abrogation of human rights and is a breeding ground for civil strife in Zimbabwe that must therefore be urgently dismantled.

The toll that protracted reversals in development progress have taken on the lives of Zimbabweans has long gone beyond the intolerable. NANGO continues to receive widespread and verified reports indicating that more and more Zimbabweans - especially children - are dying of hunger, due to amongst other things a severe food deficit crisis and a collapsing social service delivery system. According to the World Food Programme (WFP) an estimated 2 million people need urgent food assistance in Zimbabwe and the WFP expects this figure to rise to 5.1 million in early 2008. At the same time the vast majority of Zimbabweans remain precariously exposed to the devastating effects of an economy in recession, an unrelenting HIV/AIDS scourge and chronic hunger albeit with limited access to social safety nets and goods and services from the open market. More Zimbabweans than ever before in Zimbabwe's post-Independence history are caught up in an unforgiving cycle of poverty in which an estimated 28% children are malnourished, 85% of adults formally unemployed and over 70% of households considered food insecure.

Channels of much needed humanitarian, information, medical and other forms of support from the NGO community are clearly overwhelmed by the sheer volumes of deprivation. The levels of need far exceed what Relief operations can sustainably provide; it requires the intervention of an accountable, mandated, democratic and responsive governmental system backed up by strong International support. The same governmental system must amongst other things be committed to International standards and norms of human rights, good governance, rule of law and democracy.

However, at a time when a responsible government is required to make critical decisions to rescue the situation; NANGO laments the extent to which months of political wrangling since the March 29 Harmonised Election by the major political parties have further emaciated Zimbabwe's capacity steer back on track towards achieving the MDGs. NANGO therefore urges the expeditious resolution of the political impasse as will make way for Parliament, cabinet and other structures of state to address the urgent imperative of conducting stronger national efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

NANGO urges the participation of all Zimbabweans in the array events lined up as part of the Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty Campaign including the milestone Anti-Poverty march and concert scheduled for the 18th of October at Chitungwiza.

Visit the NANGO fact sheet

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