Back to Index

Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report
United Nations Relief and Recovery Unit in collaboration with Famine Early Warning Systems Network
June 24, 2002

Download this document
- Rich Text Format (RTF) - 292KB
- Acrobat PDF Format - 42KB

If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.

The Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report is a United Nations publication by the Relief and Recovery Unit in the UN Resident Co-ordinator’s office. It is carried out in collaboration with FEWSNet, a USAID funded organisation that is not part of the United Nations group. In writing the articles appearing in the SitRep the RRU uses data obtained from many sources, including FEWSNet analyses, government agencies, and NGO assessments.

Senior Humanitarian UN mission to Southern Africa
The United Nations Under Secretary General, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, in his capacity as Emergency Relief Co-ordinator will visit Zimbabwe from 26 to 28 June 2002. This familiarization mission will consider the range of issues affecting Southern Africa as it faces major food shortages and related humanitarian problems. The mission includes Ms Julia Taft, Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, and Ms Judith Lewis, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

The OCHA-led Zimbabwe draft Consolidated Appeal has been completed and has been circulated for comments. The final report is expected on 30 June 2002. This will be incorporated under a Regional Consolidated Appeal umbrella that will consolidate UN emergency appeals from the most seriously affected countries in the region. The Regional Consolidated Appeal will be launched during the ECOSOC humanitarian segment on 15 July 2002 in New York.

Updated Assessments Revise Food Aid Estimates
A joint FEWS NET/NEWU Food Security Assessment Report was released on 11 June 2002, incorporating the final crop production estimates released by the National Crop Forecasting Committee, which were not available during the WFP/FAO Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) in April/May.

People in all Districts Nationwide Need Food Aid
The latest FEWS NET figures and analysis consider some 5.6 million Zimbabweans as food insecure and in need of food assistance during the April 2002 to March 2003 marketing year. Of these people, some 3.8 million are considered extremely food insecure. In normal years with production shortfalls, those requiring assistance are generally concentrated in the chronically food insecure southern districts of the country. This year however, because of the magnitude and widespread shortfalls, people in all districts of the country will require humanitarian assistance. Only two of the 57 districts of Zimbabwe are estimated to have less than 10,000 people requiring food aid. All but 13 of the remaining districts have more than 50,000 people requiring food aid. The worst affected districts are concentrated to the eastern and western parts of the country where the most seriously affected district have more than 100,000 vulnerable people requiring food aid.

Planned Assessments will guide Socio-Economic Targeting
Now that food availability figures are firming up, along with indicative numbers of people requiring assistance and the amount of food aid they will need over the coming year, the next step is to identify which people in each district must be targeted to ensure that scarce food aid will be directed to those most in need. This will require an understanding of how people normally meet their food and income requirements, in order to identify households that are unable to meet their food requirements through the commercial sector.

The SADC FANR Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) will be providing technical and financial support to Zimbabwe and other affected countries in the region to undertake a series of three emergency vulnerability assessments throughout the coming year, and will help establish a food security monitoring system that will help track changes in food requirements over time. Activities will be undertaken in close collaboration with international partners, including WFP VAM, FEWS NET, SC(UK), IFRC and FAO, and with national vulnerability assessment groups.

NGOs Step-up Food Aid Imports
A number of NGOs in Zimbabwe have embarked on food imports. SCF(UK) had imported 953MT of maize meal and 206MT of beans by 20 June 2002. CARE International has already imported 80MT of cereals and is expecting to receive an additional 260MT during June. World Vision is expecting to receive 11,000MT of food this month, through its first consignment of the bilateral food aid from the United States. Plan International expects to import 2,117MT of maize in June.

Since the beginning of April 2002, Government and WFP have already imported 147,000 MT and 8,800MT respectively. Total cereal imports to-date cover just 9% of the total food gap for the consumption year.

Import Rates Must Increase to Avoid Humanitarian Crisis
Zimbabwe consumes approximately 5,000MT of maize every day. Thus at the aggregate national level, 2001/02 domestic maize production of almost 500,000MT will last 100 days. Using the 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 marketing year, domestic production alone will run out by mid-July. GMB imports received so far (147,000MT) have secured national food supplies for an additional month, through mid-August, while planned GMB imports will meet requirements through mid-September.

NGOs Concerned over Growing Humanitarian Crisis
A national NGO consensus building workshop, organized by NANGO at the end of May, succeeded in developing a common position on the way forward on issues related to the food crisis, poverty, HIV/AIDS, the NGO operating environment, the governance crisis, land and the environment. With regards to the current and growing food shortages, the NGO forum highlighted that government needs to create an enabling legal regulatory framework to enable the flow of food into Zimbabwe. This must include liberalizing food procurement regulations and enhanced private sector participation to alleviate the current food shortage. Addressing HIV/AIDS issues, the meeting suggested interventions that promote mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS into all NGO activities. It was noted that there is need to scale-up existing NGO, ASO and CBO activities in Zimbabwe.

The proposed programme intends to monitor food needs, access and compliance with ethical principles. Expanding relief coverage by using NGO community structures and civic education and community strategies for reducing vulnerability, as well as building national NGO co-ordination in fundraising, financing, implementing and monitoring relief are part of the proposed plan.

Nutrition Assessment Reveals Vulnerability of Young Children
Preliminary findings from the UNICEF-led Nutrition Assessment indicate that the most vulnerable populations include children under-five years of age and pregnant or lactating women. Other vulnerable groups include orphans, malnourished individuals, internally displaced persons, people living with HIV/AIDS and the terminally ill. The assessment established that 30% (600,000 children) out of a total of 2,000,000 children under 5 years of age are already vulnerable to nutritional problems countrywide. An estimated 10% of a total of 1,000,000 pregnant or lactating women are also vulnerable. In order to contain nutrition problems, the assessment report recommended that the nutrition sector urgently address the needs of acutely malnourished individuals and prevent vulnerable population groups from becoming acutely malnourished.

An SCF(UK) nutrition survey in Binga district revealed that global acute malnutrition levels have increased from the average December 2001 level of 2.9% (ranging between 1.4% and 4.4%). Nutritional status of better-nourished children had deteriorated more than the nutritional status of the worse nourished. The study highlighted the need to increase current programmes by implementing non-targeted food distributions once harvests are exhausted. In addition, there is need to increase coverage of supplementary feeding activities to cover the more vulnerable 6 to 35 month age group who do not attend school. A household economy assessment for Binga district established that 97,500 people will require food aid from July 2002 until March 2003, and that the remaining 32,700 people will need food aid from September onwards. This will further worsen the nutritional status of the vulnerable household population groups from becoming acutely malnourished.

Assessment Confirms Inadequate Health Delivery Services
A WHO-led Health Assessment identified at least 1,000,000 people as already affected by a decline in health services delivery, with an additional 100,000 vulnerable people in peri-urban settlements. Of the total, 15% are children under 5 years, 20% are pregnant women, 60% are the poor, and 10% are elderly. The assessment report highlighted the urgent need to increase the availability of vital drugs and medical supplies, including drugs for HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in health institutions.

UNICEF to Assist HIV/AIDS Affected Children
UNICEF is preparing a sector plan on Child Protection issues, as part of the UN Consolidated Appeal. The current orphan population due to HIV/AIDS is estimated at 600,000 and is anticipated to rise to 910,000 by the year 2005. UNICEF will also address the growing issue of child headed households. To meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable children, UNICEF and partners will help strengthen community’s coping mechanisms to respond to child protection issues and provide essential support to orphans and other vulnerable children.

UNAIDS and Donors Step-Up Fight Against HIV/AIDS
In response to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe, UNAIDS is undertaking efforts to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, mitigate its impact and provide care and support to the infected and affected people. In addition, they plan to strengthen collaborative efforts and co-operation with sector Ministries, NGOs and community groups. The Zimbabwe National Aids Council reported that there are now 83 AIDS districts in the country, set-up to improve efforts of HIV/AIDS prevention, support and mitigation.

USAID reported that 85% of its budgetary assistance to Zimbabwe supports HIV/AIDS-related activities, which include voluntary counseling and testing, social marketing of condoms, support to the Zimbabwe National Planning Council and supplying of contraceptives in collaboration with DFID. Catholic Relief Services is managing a US funded grant to support NGOs who are involved in HIV/AIDS projects. OXFAM (GB) intends to introduce HIV/AIDS programme in four districts of Masvingo and Midlands provinces. Other NGOs, including Inter-Country People’s Aid have partnered with AFRICARE in peri-urban settlements around Harare to address HIV/AIDS related problems.

Contacts
For additional information or comments, please contact the United Nations Relief and Recovery Unit, Harare
Tel: +263 4 792681-6, ext. 207 or E-mail: george.olesh@undp.org

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP