UN begs for Zimbabwe

Published: December 22, 2009

Harare(ZimEye)The United Nations has launched a massive $400 million funding appeal on behalf of Zimbabwe, where about 2 million people need food handouts until the next harvest expected in April 2010.

Catherine Bragg, United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator pleaded with the international community to help vulnerable people in the country, where three years of severe drought coupled with president Robert Mugabe’s disastrous land seizures have left half the population desperate.

“About six million people remain vulnerable because of the erosion of basic services and livelihoods following the protracted economic downturn,” the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement accompanying the ‘Consolidated Appeal’ for 2010. “An equal number lack access to safe water and sanitation. Despite improvements in food security, the country faces a substantial national cereal deficit and about 1.9 million people will need food assistance at the peak of the 2010 hunger season from January to March 2010.

Almost 343,600 adults and 35,200 children under 15 years urgently need antiretroviral (ARV) treatment out of 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Child malnutrition remains a challenge, with 33 percent of children under the age of five chronically malnourished and 7 percent suffering from acute malnutrition. The education sector continues to face severe shortages of essential supplies and a high staff turnover. Since September 2009, Zimbabwe is facing a cholera outbreak that has spread to half of its 10 provinces.”

The agency also said a “marked deterioration in existing infrastructure retards meaningful economic revival, hence the need to combine humanitarian assistance with support for ‘humanitarian plus’ or early recovery programmes”.
Bragg said, “This is a critical moment for the UN and partners to support both humanitarian and recovery activities in Zimbabwe. We hope donors will continue to generously support the people of Zimbabwe.”

The Government, which last year banned relief agencies from feeding poor people for several months, was fully involved in drafting the current appeal through the ministry of regional and international co-operation, officials said.
OCHA said the appeal was issued by 76 agencies including United Nations agencies, inter-governmental organizations, international and national non-governmental organizations, and community and faith-based
organizations.

The agency said the 2010 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for Zimbabwe is aligned with the priorities of the government’s Short-Term Economic Recovery Programme (STERP) and Medium-Term Plan(MTP) and includes early recovery and what are known as ‘humanitarian plus’ interventions. “The 2009 appeal for $719 million received 64 percent of the requested funding,” the UN said.

Mugabe’s nemesis, the British government was among the first to respond to the appeal. Dave Fish, head of the UK’s aid programme in Zimbabwe said the country had given Zimbabwe $6.7 million as part of the $100 million prime minister Gordon Brown pledged to his Zimbabwean counterpart Morgan Tsvangirai in June. In a statement, the British embassy here said, “We provide direct support to the most vulnerable households irrespective of politics.”(ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

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UN begs for Zimbabwe

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