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European Commission rallies round Zimbabwean children
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
July 09, 2007

The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (DG ECHO) has boosted support to a programme to improve the protection of orphaned and vulnerable children across Zimbabwe in the past year, thanks to a €600,000 (US$800,000) donation to UNICEF.

The contribution has improved the lives of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) through enhancing peer education, outreach to vulnerable young people by youth volunteers, HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and the risks faced by adolescent girls, and provision of basic emergency non-food items.

"This support from the EC's Humanitarian Aid Department has ensured well organized and proficient use of aid, and thus that we reach a greater number of Zimbabwe's children," said UNICEF's Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "With growing problems and limited funds, it is vital we get maximum impact with every penny we spend - that's what this does."

The contribution of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department is a unique donation, as it also includes nationwide coordination of activities within the nutrition and water and sanitation sectors. Training on Code of Conduct and prevention of Sexual and Gender Based Violence has also been conducted with humanitarian workers. This will further enhance the protection of Zimbabwe's orphaned and vulnerable children.

The funds came at a time when many families and communities continue to struggle with the consequences of diminishing economy and access to basic services, the aftermath of successive years of drought and the impact of the AIDS pandemic on children. Zimbabwe has the highest percentage of children who are orphans in the world and despite falls in HIV, still has the world's fourth worst HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.

Commenting on their efforts and support to Zimbabwe's orphaned and vulnerable children, the head of the European Commission Delegation, Ambassador Xavier Marchal said: "This support addresses the urgent care and protection needs of orphans and other vulnerable children. We will continue to do so in these times of great need."

The funding also includes a youth programme that encourages and trains young people to buoy their communities by working alongside home-based carers for the chronically ill and orphans. Young People We Care volunteers help households in their communities, most of them affected by HIV/AIDS, by growing food, doing household chores and playing and comforting young people in these households.

Since 2004, the EC and its Humanitarian Aid Department have donated 8.15 million Euros through UNICEF's programmes. The funds have been directed to households with chronically ill adults and orphans and vulnerable children.

Ambassador Marchal noted that total funding given through UNICEF in just the past two years for long-term programmes stands at 4.55million Euros. In August 2006 the EC donated 3.75million Euros to UNICEF to improve water and sanitation facilities, including hygiene education which will benefit 660,000 rural Zimbabweans. Additionally, 800,000 Euros were donated to combat the exploitation and lack of birth certificates for children earlier this year.

In addition to this current emergency programme (of 600,000 Euros), between 2004 and 2005, the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department funded 3.6m Euros through UNICEF benefiting a total of more than 300,000 orphans.

These programmes have boosted activities which provided water and sanitation services, secondary care in households that are hardest hit by AIDS, care and mitigation activities for OVC and the coordination of the water and sanitation and nutrition sectors.

"These funds mitigate many of the hardships facing Zimbabwe's most vulnerable children," said UNICEF's Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "On behalf of the children in rural communities of Zimbabwe, I would like to thank the European Commission as well as its Humanitarian Aid Department for this generous support."

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