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Thousands of children will drop out of school
Munyaradzi Mutizwa, Zimbabwe Times
June 10, 2008

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/index.php?s=Thousands+of+children+will+drop+out+of+school+

International humanitarian organization, Save the Children, on Monday said thousands of children will be forced to drop out of school following government's suspension of distribution of relief food supplies by donors in Zimbabwe.

Save the Children Chief Executive Officer Jasmine Whitbread said Zimbabwe was facing a major humanitarian crisis and the suspension of aid would have atrocious consequences for the country's poorest and most vulnerable children.

Millions of people in Zimbabwe currently rely on the assistance of aid organizations for their survival.

"Without this lifeline, levels of malnutrition and disease will increase, and children could die as a result. More children will also be forced to drop out of school. We must be allowed to get back to deliver aid as soon as possible." Whitbread said

"We estimate that in the areas in which we are working, many families' food supplies will start to run out next month. To help protect thousands of Zimbabwe's poorest children from rising rates of malnutrition, the next delivery of food aid, such as maize, grain and cooking oil, should take place in August. However because of the political impasse, the necessary preparation for this delivery has not been made."

Aid agencies have been unable to gather essential information about the numbers and location of people requiring food aid for this coming year. This means thousands of families, who will need food aid to survive until the next March harvest, could be excluded. If they do not receive food aid, some of Zimbabwe's poorest children could starve.

"Due to restrictions over the last two months, Save the Children alone has been unable to support 16 000 families in planting winter vegetables over the last two months - vegetables that are essential for food and income. Last year four million people in Zimbabwe were in need of food aid to survive, but because the recent harvest was so poor, this year the number is likely to be much higher. Some children we are working with are already surviving on one small meal a day."

According to Save the Children the aid suspension will also have catastrophic implications for the health of Zimbabwe's poorer communities. With agencies like Save the Children unable to deliver health care, clean water and basic sanitation supplies, such as soap, children are at increased risk of dying from diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and cholera.

Whitbread said," Zimbabwe already has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with women only living on average to the age of 34 and one in ten children dying before their fifth birthday. This suspension means that HIV sufferers, both adults and children, will not receive anti-retroviral treatment. Save the Children has had to stop distributing kits to children caring for relatives with AIDS, which help prevents them from contracting the disease themselves."

Tens of thousands of children in Zimbabwe have been forced to drop out of school, because they have no clothes, uniforms or schoolbooks, or are trying to find work to get food and money for their families. In addition, many children are now being separated from their families as they flee violence in rural areas, making them vulnerable to abuse.

Save the Children has been working in Zimbabwe for nearly 25 years. Its programme includes providing food aid, livelihood assistance and supporting children in schools.

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