MORE than two million Zimbabweans are on the cusp of \u201cstarvation\u201d, the United Nations food agency has said while launching a $331,5m aid appeal to help the southern African country recover from a devastating drought.<\/p>\n
The World Food Programme (WFP) executive director David Beasley recently said 2,3 million people in rural Zimbabwe were in \u201ccrisis emergency mode\u201d and need food aid now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about people who truly are marching towards starvation if we are not here to help them,\u201d Beasley said. \u201cWe are facing a drought unlike any that
\nwe have seen in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The El Nino-induced drought cut the maize harvest by half and President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared it a national disaster.<\/p>\n
The drought comes as Zimbabweans endure a severe economic crisis \u2014 prices of staples such as sugar, cooking oil and rice have more than doubled since June,
\njacking up inflation to more than 175%.<\/p>\n
Beasley said those in need of emergency food aid in rural Zimbabwe would increase to 5,5 million by next year.<\/p>\n
The government estimates another 2,2 million people in urban areas also require food aid, bringing the total to 7,7 million, more than half of the country\u2019s
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
The $331,5m would be used for food aid, provision of water and sanitation and cash handouts to stricken families.<\/p>\n
In addition to food shortages, the appeal also targeted the humanitarian needs of victims of Cyclone Idai, which tore through parts of eastern Zimbabwe earlier
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
The cyclone, which also devastated parts of Mozambique and Malawi, affected 570 000 Zimbabweans and displaced some 50 000 of them.
\nMnangagwa, in a tweet on Wednesday, called for urgent action from the international community to help Zimbabwe deal with \u201cthe devastating Cyclone Idai and an
\nEl Nino-induced drought\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa took over from longtime leader, Robert Mugabe, following a military coup in November 2017.<\/p>\n
He won disputed elections last year, pledging to revive the struggling economy, create jobs, attract foreign investment and turn the country into a middle-
\nincome economy by 2030. But he has struggled to deliver on the economic promises or usher in meaningful political reforms.<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe is also experiencing its worst power cuts in three years, partly because the drought has reduced water levels at the country\u2019s biggest hydro-electric
\nplant, Kariba.<\/p>\n
Amid rising discontent, the main opposition MDC party said it was planning street demonstrations this week to protest against the government\u2019s handling of the
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
Cyclone Idai left 50 000 people displaced in Zimbabwe, adding to need for international aid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MORE than two million Zimbabweans are on the cusp of \u201cstarvation\u201d, the United Nations food agency has said while launching a $331,5m aid appeal to help the southern African country recover from a devastating drought. The World Food Programme (WFP) executive director David Beasley recently said 2,3 million people in rural Zimbabwe were in \u201ccrisis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":12349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,12],"tags":[350,538,345,462],"class_list":{"0":"post-12346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-head-lines","9":"category-policy","10":"tag-article","11":"tag-files","12":"tag-food","13":"tag-hunger"},"yoast_head":"\n