“The inputs and equipment the government is distributing are meant to benefit all Zimbabweans, and the beneficiaries under this scheme should support and share with those that did not benefit from the farm input scheme,” Sakubaya said.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, has called for urgent aid to avert a humanitarian disaster that will affect Zimbabwe before its next harvest. An estimated 3.8 million people would be classed as food insecure between now and the end of the year, rising to over five million – close to half the 12 million population – in the first three months of 2009.
However, the UN 2008 Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal for Zimbabwe was funded in September at just 60 percent of the US$394 million required.
Critically underfunded sectors include emergency agriculture and education; funds for health, water and sanitation are also low.
“This is worrying at a time when the people of Zimbabwe urgently need food, seeds, fertilisers and essential drugs, among so many other priorities,”
Holmes said in September. “While the humanitarian community must urgently step up immediate interventions, I call on the donor community to step up its funding in parallel, particularly to priority sectors and projects.”
The inability of the agricultural sector to produce enough food, as well as the difficulties of importing foodstuffs due to a foreign exchange crunch, has contributed to the growing food gap.
“Spiralling inflation, deteriorating physical infrastructure, the inability of the public sector to deliver basic social services, and the severe impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have led to a decline in the overall health and well-being of the population,” the UN’s appeal document notes.
“The erosion of livelihoods, food insecurity, rising malnutrition and the possibility of disease outbreaks are putting the already vulnerable population under further distress.” – IRIN
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