Zimbabwe goes cap in hand to help ease starvation caused by drought

Zimbabwe is seeking for alms as it hopes to save more than a quarter of its population from starvation following the worsening drought situation which has hit rural areas in the country with an estimated 2.4 million people now in need of food and aid.

Harare is seeking $1.5bn and has appealed to local businesses and charities to raise the sum in order to ease starvation in a country that has been experiencing abnormally low rainfall in recent times with the agricultural sector being worst hit.

Read also: Drought: State of emergency declared in Zimbabwe

Speaking at a news conference in the capital of Harare on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa said; “The government of Zimbabwe requires a total of [$1.57bn] with effect from February to December 2016.

“The amount of rainfall received to date is inadequate to meet basic household consumption needs as well as support for livelihoods, agriculture and wildlife”.

The plea of the vice president is coming barely a week after President Robert Mugabe declared a
“state of disaster” in many rural areas of the country which are worst hit by drought.

A report by the United Nations World Food Programme reveals that about 14 million people face starvation in Southern Africa due to drought aggravated by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

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