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Special
envoy on southern Africa crisis stresses the urgency of providing
help to millions of Zimbabweans
Office of
the United Nations Resident Coordinator Zimbabwe
Harare,
September 6, 2002
A virtual tour
of the Special Envoy’s mission can be followed on the web at www.wfp.org/index.asp?section=2
James Morris,
the Secretary General’s Special Envoy on the humanitarian crisis
in six southern African countries, today strongly urged for stepped-up
donations to assist more than six million people in Zimbabwe facing
increasing hardship.
While donors
have been responsive, so far only US$82 million or one-third of
the UN’s US$285 million appeal for Zimbabwe has been received. This
year’s widespread food shortages are part of a complex set of problems
facing the country caused by natural disasters and policy-related
issues.
Morris’ urgent
appeal was made today after visiting Bindura, north of the capital
Harare, where thousands of people gathered for a food distribution.
Morris arrived in Zimbabwe on 4 September as part of a two-week
UN mission to the six affected countries in the region.
"The magnitude
of hardship was engraved on the faces I saw, and I was struck by
the tragic stories people told," said Morris. "Clearly
every day is a massive struggle to survive, and the situation will
only worsen over the months ahead."
As in other
areas of Zimbabwe, in Bindura children are dropping out of school
because of hunger. Medical personnel are in short supply as are
the badly-needed drugs to combat increasing incidences of disease,
including HIV/AIDS. The unfolding humanitarian crisis brings even
more urgency to improve water and sanitation support.
And critically,
seeds and fertilizers are needed this month to time with the planting
season for the annual main crop next April. Farmers will have little
hope of producing a sufficient harvest without the necessary investment
in agricultural inputs.
Also during
his trip to Zimbabwe, Morris and his team of representatives from
the UN and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met
with key government ministers. Discussions centered on building
cooperation between the international aid community and the government
as the humanitarian situation becomes increasingly grave throughout
the country.
Other discussions
included pressing issues such as the importation of food aid containing
genetically modified organisms (GMO), the urgent need for increased
non-governmental partners to help implement programmes, the situation
of unemployed farm workers, as well as the politicization of humanitarian
assistance.
During Morris’
consultations with President Mugabe, the President gave his assurance
on a proposed swap of 17,500 tonnes of U.S. donated maize grain
for an equivalent amount of government-owned maize meal. The swap
is a positive step forward in addressing the Government’s concern
over the importation of non-milled maize (which potentially contains
GMO), while ensuring the population receives badly-needed supplies
of food aid through the World Food Programme.
"Overall,
discussions with the political and humanitarian players have been
conducted in an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual understanding
about the severe crisis at hand. I feel encouraged that progress
has been made," said Morris.
On 7 September,
the mission will continue to Zambia. Morris is accompanied by Carolyn
McAskie, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for the UN Office of
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as well as representatives
from WHO, UNICEF, FAO, WFP and SADC.
For more
information, please contact:
Brenda Barton,
Special Envoy’s Spokesperson, tel. 254 733 528912, 27 83 460 1775
Mkuleko
Hikwa mkuleko.hikwa@undp.org,
tel. 263 4 79 2681-6; mobile: 263 91 261497
Luis
Clemens Luis.Clemens@wfp.org
tel: +27 83 461 1794
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