Early this year, government made an appeal for international food aid to the tune of $1.5bln for over 3 million people who were exposed to starvation following a poor 2015-2016 rain season.
The most affected by the worst drought in the past 15 years are children and the rural populace some of whom reportedly survive on wild fruits.
Since the call by government in February, several development partners including USAID and the European Union and individual countries like China have been mobilising resources for the starving nation.
“We are pleased to announce that we have, through the World Food Programme, committed $3 million to Zimbabwe towards alleviating hunger; we are pleased to be part of that process,†Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Suzanne McCourt, told NewZimbabwe.com in an interview in Harare this week.
She said on top of the $3 million drought assistance they have given to Zimbabwe, they have, however, scaled down their aid assistance.
“We have restructured the aid programme, a lot of water and sanitation programmes we have here were forward funded and they will run until that money channelled towards them runs out. We have on-going scholarship commitments and short courses of mid-level professionals for public servants   that are running,†said ambassador McCourt.
She added, “We also have on-going support through Australian NGOs supporting partnering with Zimbabwean l NGOs to provide assistance to the communities,†she said.
Most NGOs in Zimbabwe have either scaled down or closed operations because of donor fatigue which has seen western partners pursuing other interests.
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