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Zimbabwe: Red Cross Appeals for U.S.$26,8 Million for Food Aid
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
8 August 2008
Posted to the web 8 August 2008
Harare
THE Red Cross Society of Zimbabwe has issued an urgent appeal for funding amounting to US$26,8 million for food aid to orphans and other vulnerable children and home-based care projects in the country.
According to the organisation's appeal number MDRZW004, released on Wednesday, the money would be used to procure and distribute basic food items, support agricultural activities, water and sanitation for 260 100 vulnerable children and home-based care in 25 districts over a period of nine months.
The Red Cross Society attributed food shortages in Zimbabwe to unpredictable climatic factors such as drought, low crop performance, limited irrigation schemes and a hyper-inflationary environment.
"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 August 30 next year (three months after the end of the operation)," reads part of the report.
According to the report, food shortages in the country are expected to be at their worst this year with approximately 5,1 million people in need of assistance by March next year.
"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 percent of the needs for 2008 and 2009," the report further states.
The Red Cross said the situation could only be addressed through joint efforts from all relevant players.
Secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Lancaster Museka confirmed that a number of households are facing food shortages because of the prevailing conditions in the country.
He said as such, the Government was importing grain to feed the people.
"Non-governmental organisations are also free to source for assistance as long as they are registered organisations," Mr Museka said.
He reaffirmed that the Government would soon lift the ban on NGO field operations once investigations are complete.
The United Nations Children's Fund also urged the Government to lift the ban on NGOs so as not to deprive needy children of assistance.
In a statement released yesterday during the ongoing Child Health Days and World Breastfeeding Week, Unicef regional director Mr Per Engebak, who recently visited Zimbabwe, said Child Health Days were pivotal for the well-being of children, but expressed concern over the impact of the NGO ban on children.
"We applaud and are committed to efforts such as the Child Health Days campaign, but we cannot forget that a growing number of children are suffering daily because of the ban on NGOs.
"Every day that such an important lifeline of humanitarian aid for children remains cut off puts the children of this country at ever greater risk," he said.
The Government banned NGOs from carrying out field operations on June 4 following allegations of meddling in politics by some organisations.
However, the Government later clarified that NGOs involved in HIV and Aids, supplementary feeding and church-related aid were exempted from the ban.
In relation to the ongoing weeklong Child Health Days running concurrently with World Breastfeeding Week commemorations, Unicef acting country representative in Zimbabwe Mr Roeland Monasch described this year's campaign as vital in that it was being conducted at a time when Zimbabwe's health delivery system was going through a number of challenges.
"The nationwide campaigns are important life-saving, low-cost and high-impact support towards reducing child illnesses and deaths in Zimbabwe.
"The days are an essential boost to a health system under great stress and children made vulnerable by declining social services," Mr Monasch said.
The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, in partnership with Unicef, the World Health Organisation and Helen Keller International, run the Child Health Days and the World Breastfeeding Week commemorations.
The campaign is aided by essential funding from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, the Canadian International Development Agency and Unicef's National Committee of the Netherlands to the tune of US$1 million.
During the campaign, health workers and volunteers conduct outreach activities at schools, community centres and mobile clinics countrywide.
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Children, even those in hard-to-reach areas, are immunised against tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza and polio.
How cold hearted are these bastards? The Red Cross says that the need is urgent and the Zanu-pf government confirms that their are food shortages; however the ban on NGOs remains in place whilst "their investigations" are concluded. That alone warrants a visit to The Hague for Mugabe and his cohorts.
Katz, see to whom they are appealing? The United States of America. Not China because that lot cares nothing about others.
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