by Grace Chekai
The Embassy of Japan in Zimbabwe yesterday announced a US$15.3 million assistance package for drought and flood-affected communities in Zimbabwe.
In a statement, the Embassy of Japan said, “The Government of Japan has mobilized a total of more than US$15.3 million in emergency funding to assist the most vulnerable people severely affected by drought and floods in Zimbabwe through UN agencies, namely the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The Embassy of Japan said recurring droughts and worsening economic conditions had resulted in Zimbabwe facing one of its worst food security crises.
Japan said, a recent nationwide assessment, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), showed that the total number of food insecure people now stands at 7.7 million, more than half the population, while, the number of those who are acutely food insecure stands at 4.3 million.
The Embassy of Japan said the people affected by Cyclone Idai in March still needed to be supported.
“As well as drought, many of the victims of Cyclone Idai which occurred in March 2019, still require support in order to rebuild their lives. Given the extent and severity of the current humanitarian crisis, life-assistance is urgently needed and Japan has greatly increased its funding,” said the statement.
The Embassy said the funding included US $14.8 million to provide food assistance to vulnerable populations through the WFP and the Government of Zimbabwe. Whilst, the US $454,545 would provide a comprehensive set of life-saving nutrition, HIV/AIDS and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions targeting the most vulnerable women and children in the four districts of Binga, Buhera, Chiredzi and Masvingo through UNICEF.
The recurrence of droughts in Zimbabwe has caused untold suffering to the people of Zimbabwe. This has been worsened by the economic sanctions which were unilaterally imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States of America.
The deadly coronavirus which has hit the world has exacerbated the economic crisis in Zimbabwe and has seen some International Organisations assisting Zimbabwe financially and in kind.
In a recent development, Zimbabwe is set to receive US $7 million from the World Bank (WB) to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
