Friday, April 3, 2020

ZIMBABWE, UN UNVEIL $715 MILLION FOOD, COVID-19 HUMANITARIAN PLAN

By Our Correspondent, HARARE Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe and the United Nations unveiled a multi-million-dollar emergency humanitarian proposal in preparation to help a section of the population which is threatened by famine and vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The proposal worth $715 million targets around 5.6 million people, about a third of the national population.
The UN estimates seven million people in the country need multi-sectoral humanitarian support. About 2.2 million people in Zimbabwe are food insecure due to increasing urban vulnerability.
The key areas prioritized by the plan include food aid, water and sanitation, health, education and shelter among other lifesaving and life-sustaining support to high risk populations. Additionally, the plan will include the remaining humanitarian support to communities affected by Cyclone Idai and refugees.
“It is extremely important that the food system keeps on functioning,” World Food Programme (WFP) regional director Lola Castro said.
Sirak Gebrehiwot, a UN Communications Specialist in Zimbabwe, said food insecurity remains the major concern with nearly half of the rural population requiring ongoing aid.
“Today the Covid-19 Pandemic is the latest shock impacting on the well-being and livelihoods of Zimbabweans,” Gebrehiwot said.
The coronavirus is the latest shock to hit the southern African nation. Zimbabwe is in the middle of its worst economic crisis in a decade and is further weighed down by a collapsing public health sector. Given the current state of Zimbabwe’s the impact of the pandemic could be catastrophic.
Zimbabwe has so far registered eight cases of the deadly virus with one fatality, a 30-year-old man who had traveled abroad and had a pre-existing condition.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a 21-day “total” lockdown from Monday, curtailing movement, shutting most shops and suspending flights in and out of the impoverished southern African country. - Africa

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