HARARE — The United Nations has appealed for more funding for food relief programmes in Zimbabwe where 2,2 million people are facing hunger, with the situation likely to be worsened by rising food prices.
Zimbabwe has suffered years of failed agricultural seasons, blamed on poor policies including the land reform programme introduced in 2000, made worse over the past three years by poor rainfall.
Maize prices in South Africa, from where Zimbabwe will import 150 000 tonnes, have increased due to concern about low production as a result of drought conditions in the country. Relief agencies such as the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) also import maize for relief efforts from neighbouring Zambia.
“Rising food prices are making matters worse — in some areas, they are as much as double what they were last year. We’d been hoping to have scaled up our seasonal relief operations to reach 1,8 million people in the coming months with distributions of food and, in some areas, cash transfers,” WFP communications manager Tomson Phiri said.
The UN relief agency has had to cut rations for about one million people on its relief programmes, warning that there could be even “deeper cuts” in the number of beneficiaries from next month.
As a result of the rising food prices and subdued funding inflows, the WFP said it “currently needs $60 million to fully implement its relief and recovery operations in the next six months”.
Sydney Mhishi, the principal director in the Labour and Social Welfare ministry, told a parliamentary portfolio committee the most “critical period is January, February and early March”.
He said about 10 000 tonnes of grain was needed each month to shore up supplies to the affected areas. The WFP said food insecurity had risen in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South, Masvingo and the Midlands provinces.
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