THE WORLD Food Programme (WFP) is urgently seeking more international support to prevent millions of Zimbabweans plunging deeper into hunger. 

An appeal for $250 million has been launched after the organisation warned that the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated an already severe hunger crisis in the southern African country. 

Surge

According to the WFP, the number of food-insecure people in the southern African nation, is expected to surge by almost 50 per cent, to 8.6 million by the end of the year. 

That figure represents around 60 per cent of the population, the agency said in a statement, highlighting drought, economic recession and the COVID-19  pandemic as the main drivers of the crisis.

Galloping hyperinflation has meant that few families can now afford even basic food, WFP said, with the price of maize, the staple cereal, more than doubling in June.

Lola Castro, WFP’s Regional Director for Southern Africa, said that many Zimbabwean families were suffering “the ravages of acute hunger”, before appealing to the international community to help prevent “a potential humanitarian catastrophe.”

Lockdown

Zimbabwe’s food insecurity has been compounded by a nationwide lockdown which has caused massive joblessness in urban areas.

It’s been one crisis after another for Southern Africa. From cyclones, to floods, to drought and now the pandemic. Families just cannot seem to catch a break. This pandemic could not have come at a worse time.

Charles Businge, Southern Africa Director of Plan International

In rural areas, hunger is accelerating, as unemployed migrants return to their villages, without the vital remittances they once provided.

According to WFP, subsistence farmers make up three-quarters of Zimbabwe’s population and produce most of its food.

They are hurting because of a third successive drought-hit harvest this year which yielded only 1.1 million tonnes of maize, the staple cereal.

This amount is well down on last year’s already poor harvest of 2.4 million tonnes, and less than half the national requirement.

As a result, WFP has warned that that there will “even more severe hunger” in early 2021, at the peak of the next “lean” season.

Funding

With sufficient funding, the agency intends to assist four million of the most vulnerable people in Zimbabwe this year: those suffering “crisis” and “emergency” levels of hunger.

This month, amid serious funding shortages, WFP will only reach 700,000 of 1.8 million intended recipients.

Speaking about the food security crisis in southern Africa, Charles Businge, Southern Africa Director of the charity Plan International said:  “It’s been one crisis after another for Southern Africa. From cyclones, to floods, to drought and now the pandemic. Families just cannot seem to catch a break. This pandemic could not have come at a worse time. It could potentially double the impact of the food crisis with dire consequences for millions of vulnerable people.”

Businge said that concern was growing about the impact of COVID-19 and food insecurity on girls and women. 

He said: “In Mozambique and Zimbabwe, women make up the majority of the agricultural labour force. With lockdowns and social distancing in place, women have been cut off from their basic income sources and are unable to earn enough money to buy food for themselves and their families.

“Girls and women are at great risk of abuse and exploitation as they fight for survival.”