ZIMBABWE: Aid promised to Zimbabwe as food crisis worsens

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), Zimbabwe's food security situation has reached critical levels and must be urgently addressed to save thousands of villagers from starvation. The U.N. has launched a 215 million U.S. dollars appeal for humanitarian and food aid early this year after grim projections that this season's grain yields would only come in at half the nation's annual domestic requirements. The size of the appeal would have enabled the U.N. to feed close to two million Zimbabweans facing starvation. WFP director in Zimbabwe Kevin Farrell has described the current situation in Zimbabwe as disturbing. On Wednesday (September 12), however, WFP received a 3.5 million Canadian dollars (3.3. million U.S. dollars) donation from Canada, to assist the organisation's food relief operations. Canada's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Roxanne Dube, said the donation should allow them to buy some 6,600 metric tonnes of maize within southern Africa. But Dube knows this won't solve a problem and remains concerned over this issue. "There was an evaluation done by the FAO and World Food Programme a while ago which suggested that by early 2008 over 4 million Zimbabweans will be food insecured," she said. "I want to conclude my remarks by expressing a concern that at the end of the day, this may remain a drop in the bucket, unless or until some of the policies and some of the environment in Zimbabwe are revisited," she added. Last month, the WFP appealed for 118 million U.S. dollars to buy food for starving Zimbabweans over the next eight months. The food relief agency says it already had 138,000 tonnes of food but still needed another 180.000 tonnes to distribute to about three million Zimbabweans until the next harvest next April. WFP director in Zimbabwe Kevin Farrell underlined how much WFP appreciates the quick response from Canada. Zimbabwe is struggling under a severe economic crisis, highlighted by inflation of more than 7,600 percent and chronic shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency, which critics have blamed on President Robert Mugabe's policies. The country is now importing maize from neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Malawi.

ITN Source | September 13, 2007

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