Staff Writer

Government through the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare has reviewed its drought relief strategy by retargeting rural households and reviewing food handouts from 50kg per household to 10kg per individual.

This retargeting exercise is paving way for the resumption of distribution of grain starting October 2021, which was temporarily suspended in March to pave way for the Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC).

 “This review was done in line with international best humanitarian practices which captures household characteristics in order to ensure that the food handouts guaranteed sufficient food supply.

“Unlike the previous set up whereby a household of 13 would get the same amount of grain with a family of let’s say four people, eventually leading to food deficiencies from those large families,” said an official from the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare.

According to the current ZimVAC statistics, food insecure households has improved from 55% to 27%. Previous records reported at least 5 994 790 individuals being food insecure in rural households, compared to the current 2 942 897.

“The immediate target will be feeding 1 074 491 individuals from October to December 2021, then gradually increase to 1 219 019 from January to March 2022 which is usually the peak hunger period,” he added.

Worst affected provinces are Matebeleland North, Masvingo and Matebeleland South, which Government has been supporting through its Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy (FDMS) programme.

Other developmental partners such as World Food Program (WFP) have also partnered Government’s call to zero tolerance to hunger by ensuring food security in the country to vulnerable households this year, especially against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused depletion of the sources of livelihoods and exacerbated food insecurity.