|
Back to Index
Zimbabwe:
Food insecurity emergency
International
Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies
August 06, 2008
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-7H9GSC?OpenDocument
Download
this document
- Acrobat
PDF version (197KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader
on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking
here.
This preliminary
emergency appeal seeks CHF 27,755,314 (USD 26,837,020) in cash or
in kind to support the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) to assist
260,100 OVC, HBC clients and their household members within its
community home-based care programme across 25 districts in the country's
ten administrative provinces for nine months.
The food supply
situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated significantly in recent years.
The country has been facing stern socio-economic decline since 2000,
a vulnerability compounded by the aggravated impacts of climate
change such as drought, low crop performance and limited irrigation.
All these factors
have combined to lead to severe shortages of basic food across the
country. Estimates suggest that up to 5.1 million people may be
without access to food by the end of 2008. In addition, Zimbabwe,
like so many countries on the African continent is suffering appallingly
as a result of HIV and AIDS. The pandemic claims an estimated 2,300
lives every day.
This preliminary
emergency appeal, launched at the request of ZRCS, is therefore
intended to provide vital support in responding to immediate humanitarian
needs in the following areas across 25 districts of the country's
eight provinces:
- Procurement
and distribution of basic food items;
- Agricultural
support and livelihoods recovery;
- Water and
sanitation (WatSan interventions).
This operation
is expected to be implemented over nine months, and will be completed
by May 2009. A final report will be made available by 30 August
2009 (three months after the end of the operation).
The
situation
The
food security situation in Zimbabwe is likely to be the worst ever
on record in 2008. By December, approximately 5.1 million people
will not have access to food. This extremely worrying situation
will only be addressed through the joint efforts of all relevant
actors. The Red Cross - ZRCS and the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - is in this
regard only one important player.
An exceptional
accumulation of negative factors have created this unprecedented
humanitarian situation. Unpredictable weather patterns, drastic
socio-economic decline and a deepening humanitarian crisis have
left millions of Zimbabweans without access to sufficient food,
while the HIV and AIDS pandemic continues to ravage the country
as it claims an estimated 2,300 lives every day (According to MoHCW1:
Herald Newspaper on 1 November 2007). The country's predominantly
subsistence agriculture economy is particularly prone to the changing
weather patterns induced by climate change. To worsen the situation,
Zimbabwe is struggling with the world's highest inflation
rate (over two million per cent as of end July 2008). As most rural
communities are dependent on agricultural production this financial
strain has a significant effect on food security and livelihoods.
According to
the 18 June 2008 Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World
Food Programme (WFP) joint crop and food supply assessment (CFSAM),
the total number of food insecure persons in rural and urban areas
will be 2.04 million persons for the period between July and September
2008, rising to 3.8 million people between October and December
2008 and peaking to 5.1 million people between January and March
2009. This is approximately 45 per cent of the total population.
The capacity of the government to import food will be constrained
by soaring food prices, and unavailability of foreign currency in
the country. The expected harvest may only reach 40 per cent of
the needs for 2008/2009.
Download
full document
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
|
