In addition to the five million Zimbabweans relying on food handouts, around one million hungry people who would benefit from receiving food aid this month may not receive any at all because of insufficient funding.
Despite recent donations, the UN World Food Program still faces a shortfall of around $65 million for its operations in Zimbabwe until the end of March.
?We urge rich governments around the world to increase their aid to the UN emergency food appeal so that people won?t have to go without meals,? said Peter Mutoredzanwa, Oxfam?s country Director in Zimbabwe. ?Peoples? lives are in danger because of the lack of food. They are severely weakened and therefore less able to deal with cholera, which has spread across the country, or fight HIV/AIDS.
?I?ve met people who?ve gone for days without meals,? said Mutoredzanwa. ?Others told me they were eating wild fruit or vegetables. In cholera treatment centers, patients weren?t receiving any regular food either from health officials or their families, slowing their ability to recover quickly.
?The likelihood is that this year?s harvest will be even worse than last year?s and that food shortages could continue into 2010. As well as dealing with immediate needs, aid donors have to look at longer-term inputs to help farmers and prevent future food emergencies and food insecurity. This can be done through providing seeds for winter cropping, helping farmers to access fertilizers, and investing more in agriculture,? said Mutoredzanwa.
This week, Oxfam began distributing its monthly food aid to vulnerable families, working with the UN World Food Program. Oxfam is helping to feed more than 253,000 people in three districts of Midlands province, in central Zimbabwe, some of the most food insecure areas in the country.
People are set to receive rations this month of 10kgs of cereal and 1kgs of pulses—down from October levels of 12kgs of cereal and 1.28 kgs of pulses. Rations of cooking oil have been cut from last month?s figure of 0.6 liters to just 0.45 liters and there will be no distributions of corn soya beans. In addition, the numbers receiving food aid will be capped to a maximum of six people per household.
Desperate families have begun selling household assets and livestock to purchase basic food staples. A recent survey by the WFP found that nearly one in five households—including those receiving food aid—had sold assets in the past three months and that more than seventy per cent of households did so in order to buy food. Without livestock and valuables, families are even more vulnerable to future crises.
The study also revealed that 12% of households reported not having eaten any food in the previous day.
Zimbabwe has a shortage of seeds and fertilizers and most farmers can?t afford to buy agricultural inputs which are now only sold in foreign, rather than Zimbabwean currency.
]]>"Delay is not an option as this crisis could rapidly spread with the rainy season looming. The government of Zimbabwe must acknowledge the extent of the crisis and take immediate steps to mobilize all available resources to deal with the epidemic," said Charles Abani, Regional Director for Oxfam in Southern Africa. "We urgently need international donors to support all humanitarian plans to tackle the problem."
Ordinary Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. Cholera, a water-borne disease, has surged due to the breakdown of city sewerage systems, poor maintenance of water supply systems including hand pumps, severe drinking water shortages, and the lack of basic hygiene items such as soap. Oxfam has contracted 10 trucks to transport more than 200 tonnes of soap and disinfectant into Zimbabwe.
The crisis is set to worsen significantly in December, when the rainy season begins. Cholera is already starting to spread into neighboring countries.
"Our field assessments show an alarming deterioration of water quality and supply in clinics and hospitals with virtually none having access to safe water, and patients often having to supply their own. This applies equally to urban and rural health centers,? said Abani.
Oxfam is:
"There have been more than 6000 cases of cholera reported since this epidemic began. These numbers are conservative however, as they don't include people who are sick and dying at home, without access to a clinic or hospital," said Abani.
"Oxfam's call to the political parties of Zimbabwe, leaders in the region and to the global community is to deal with this humanitarian crisis, irrespective of the status of political negotiations. In the interest of the poorest and most vulnerable Zimbabweans, and of countries neighboring Zimbabwe, all concerned parties need to hasten a political settlement".
]]>"Delay is not an option. The international community must provide support and assistance to the new coalition government,? said Charles Abani, Regional Director for of Oxfam in Southern Africa. ?Assistance must be carefully coordinated and managed, so that very weak state institutions are not overstretched. Zimbabwean civil society must also be included in a transparent process.?
Ordinary Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. The little food that is available is unaffordable to most. An estimated 3.8 million people are anticipated to be in urgent need of food assistance by October. Life expectancy for women is just 35 years, and unemployment stands at 85 per cent.
Investment in agriculture is key. Farmers need fertilizers and seeds urgently, so that they can prepare for the November planting season.
"The international community must not just throw money at this problem then walk away and say 'job done'. Zimbabwe needs a long-term plan, built on partnership and shared responsibilities, and supported by long-term, predictable aid from international governments,? said Abani.
?It is also important that the Zimbabwe government meets its commitments to rebuilding the nation. The coalition government must show leadership in the rebuilding process if international support is to succeed. They should ensure equitable and effective access to humanitarian assistance, extend the operational space for all civil society organizations, and deal quickly with outstanding registration issues for NGOs,? Abani added.
?Many local and international organizations who want to get back to helping poor people in Zimbabwe are still unable to do so because their registration status is pending. We urge the new government to facilitate the registration process in the interest of Zimbabweans in need of assistance.?
]]>A letter issued on June 4th by the Zimbabwean Minister of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare, addressed to ?all private voluntary organizations / non governmental organizations? has instructed all NGOs ?to suspend all field operation until further notice.?
In addition to food shortages now, it is estimated there will be a further 1.4 million ton shortfall in maize this year. Food insecurity is expected to be a serious problem by August.
Charles Abani, Oxfam?s director in Southern Africa, said: ?We are deeply concerned at this development. A lot of people are completely reliant on food aid to keep them alive. They don?t have anything else to eat. Access has been restricted in recent months and we are very worried about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the communities where we work.?
?We are also concerned that all NGOs?including local Zimbabwean organizations?have been suspended which brings a halt to a wide range of services to needy people.?
Oxfam hopes this directive to suspend operations is temporary and calls on authorities to allow us to continue our ongoing work and assessments.
Oxfam is a non-partisan organization that provides humanitarian assistance to people based on need and need alone. Our only interest is in ensuring that those people most vulnerable get the assistance they are entitled to.
]]>Aid agencies and NGOs met with the Zimbabwean government on 1 September following the lifting of the ban on field operations put in place on 4 June. Under ?operation modalities? stipulated by the Zimbabwean government all aid agencies and local NGOs are required to share their registration information in areas where they are operational and complete a ?monitoring and evaluation? form.
Charles Abani, regional Oxfam director, said: ?Oxfam recognizes the importance of transparency and accountability. However, we hope that this process is not used to constrain actions or actors who support the needs of poor and vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. We are also concerned that the lifting of the ban appears partial. We urge the Zimbabwean government to extend full permission to all civil society organizations to operate in Zimbabwe.?
?The impact of our work will be greatly enhanced once government grants universal access for all organizations working with affected communities in Zimbabwe.?
If food aid is not resumed, widespread hunger and worsening malnutrition will be unavoidable. Reports from the Zimbabwe Crop and Food Security Assessment indicate that without humanitarian assistance, 5.1 million people, or 43 per cent of Zimbabwe's population, will not have enough to eat by January 2009. Due to chronic underinvestment in public services infrastructure, there is also a growing risk of water- and sanitation-related diseases such as cholera.
Food insecurity is not just limited to rural areas, but is now also a real threat to poor urban families. Following the lifting of the ban, Oxfam plans to scale-up its work to assist more than 500 000 people with food aid in Midlands and Masvingo Provinces, as well as in several urban centres across the country including Harare and Bulawayo. Oxfam will also begin work on preventing diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera, brought on by deteriorating water and sanitation conditions.
]]>?This funding will help save lives and prevent further suffering to hundreds of thousands of people in Zimbabwe,? said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. ?With the oncoming rainy season, an already devastating cholera outbreak could become catastrophic unless issues of unsafe water and sanitation are addressed.?
The funding will enhance Oxfam?s existing response by providing safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. In addition, the initiative will sensitize community members to effectively identify the disease and instruct them to seek immediate treatment when it occurs, and teach them how to prevent contamination to others. Lastly, the funding will also support community members initiating their own community based Cholera Early Warning Systems to collect data and identify potential risks to their water sources to reduce the spread of the disease.
?Immediate treatment for those affected, and the implementation of prevention measures, are critical to helping stop the further spread of this disease in Zimbabwe,? said Chip Lyons, director of Special Initiatives in the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ?Oxfam?s long-standing track record of responding to international emergencies make them well positioned to not only provide relief, but also to establish a foundation for community awareness around prevention.?
?Not only will this award be used for immediate response, but it will also be used for prevention,? said Ransom Mariga, head of Oxfam America?s program in Zimbabwe. ?This is especially important for the many people in Zimbabwe who are hungry and for whom cholera would be lethal.?
Cholera is a water-borne disease. This outbreak is a result of the breakdown of health, basic water and sanitation services and has already killed over 1,600 people since August and infected over 33,000 around the country, according to the World Health Organization. Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. In addition to the cholera outbreak, at least 3.8 million people do not have enough to eat ? going without food for days at a time. Oxfam has been responding to the humanitarian emergency through food distribution and limited water and hygiene work.
]]>The Zimbabwean government has declared a national health emergency. Oxfam welcomed the declaration, saying that it should spur international donors to respond more urgently to the humanitarian needs.
"People have been going without enough food for months. They are hungry, weak, and vulnerable to infection. Some donors have immediately made sums available, and that will make a real difference. But this is far from enough. Unless the international community steps up to provide money for food and medical assistance immediately, the already dire situation will get much worse,? said Peter Mutoredzanwa, Country Director for Oxfam in Zimbabwe.
"Millions of people were already facing starvation. With unemployment over 80 percent, and food unavailable across the country, they now have to contend with cholera and other diseases as the water and sanitation systems break down. With the rainy season upon us, the epidemic will spread even more rapidly. Aid agencies urgently need support from the international community to scale up their efforts,? Mutoredzanwa added.
Ordinary Zimbabweans desperately need health care, clean water and sanitation. Cholera, a water-born disease, has surged due to the breakdown of city sewerage systems, poor maintenance of water supply systems, including hand pumps, severe drinking water shortages, and the lack of basic hygiene items such as soap.
?With close to half the population weakened by serious food shortages, cholera when it hits is even more likely to be lethal,? said Mutoredzanwa. ?Indications are that more than 5 million people will urgently need food aid by January.?
Oxfam is distributing 12,000 metric tons of maize meal, vegetable oil and pulses in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP), reaching 150,000 vulnerable people. The agency?s cholera response will now be scaling up to target 615,000 people, and focusing on three of the worst hit areas: Beitbridge on the South African border; Budiriro, a suburb of Harare; and Mudzi, an area bordering Mozambique. The aid agency also plans to start moving into areas where cholera has not hit, to proactively prevent the spread of the disease.
?We are very concerned that unless donors pledge additional money now, food aid rations will have to be cut,? said Mutoredzanwa. ?No one should wait for a political solution in Zimbabwe before pledging to help—this will be too late for millions of vulnerable Zimbabweans.?
]]>