Staff Writer
DENMARK has extended a US$3 million donation through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund towards Zimbabwe’s hunger alleviation in line with the humanitarian appeal made by the United Nations.
Danish Development Minister, Rasmus Prehn said while climate change is to blame for the hunger, there is need to employ lasting solutions.
He said, “Whilst there has been progress in developing countries, hunger still remains a challenge and climate change is a large contributing factor. It is important that we take action with long term solutions to avert the continued food insecurity such as that currently unfolding in Southern Africa” says the Danish Minister of Development.”
The grant will go a long way to mitigate the negative impact of the drought for the next six months by protecting household and community asset base, providing cash-payments and strengthening on-going Disaster Risk Management efforts.
Also commenting on the latest humanitarian gesture, UNDP Resident Representative, Georges van Montfort, said the current drought risks are eroding the hard work farmers have put into building resilience.
He said it remains imperative to protect these development gains and prevent communities from sliding back into food insecurity.
Zimbabwe is experiencing a drought after receiving less than average rainfall in the 2018-2019 farming season, leaving an estimated 5.5 million rural and 2.2 million urban people vulnerable and food insecure.
Continued drought is predicted in the 2019-2020 season because of the delayed onset of rains.
The Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund aims to contribute to the ability of communities to withstand the impact of shocks and stresses such as droughts. It is a multi-donor trust fund – contributed to by DfID, the European Union, Sweden.
The Fund is implemented by consortia of international and local organisations in 18 districts, namely: Beitbridge, Binga, Bubi, Chiredzi, Insiza Kariba and Lupane. The others are Matobo, Mberengwa Mbire, Mudzi, Mutoko, Mwenezi, and Nkayi. It is also implemented in Nyanga, Umguza, Umzingwane and Zvishavane.
Achaotic land redistribution exercise in the late 1990s stripped the Southern Africa nation of the experienced farmers and successive political and economic policy blunders for the last two decades have worsened the situation.
