C-SAFE finds "high vulnerability" in resettled areas

Less than one in every 10 families living in newly resettled areas in Zimbabwe has received food aid, the Consortium for Southern Africa's Food Emergency (C-SAFE) has found in its latest baseline survey. C-SAFE said in areas where the consortium operated, vulnerability was "very high" and over 60 percent of the 1,625 households surveyed since March 2003 were in "at least one vulnerability category". The survey, conducted in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, found that rural households had suffered the brunt of the ongoing food crisis, with 80 percent of households classified as "asset poor" or "very poor". C-SAFE noted that while poverty was a significant contributory factor in exacerbating the impact current food shortages were having on rural families, many households were without items which could be sold in exchange for food or to deal with emergencies. It is estimated that in Zimbabwe the standard value of assets owned per household averages Zim 194,000 (US $139). "Asset values are significantly lower in newly resettled areas, as opposed to communal and old resettled areas," the survey said. While less than a third of male-headed households in the sample population could be classified as "asset poor", the figure increased markedly in families headed by women. Households often also had to cope with the added responsibility of caring for orphaned children and 30 percent of homes survey were currently hosting an average of two orphans, C-SAFE found. In some areas parents had been forced to remove their children from school, most of them citing "the high cost of education" as the main reason. School-aged children living in households with a chronically ill family member dropped out of school at a significantly higher rate. Ongoing drought conditions meant that almost 40 percent of all households had cultivated less land than in the previous season. C-SAFE noted that access to agricultural inputs varied from district to district, with over 90 percent of households in Gutu, in the south, reporting insufficient access. The survey found also found that 18 percent of families were engaged in "on-farm" labour to access cereals. Gifts and remittances, an important alternative source of cereals, were being contributed to almost a quarter of all households. Half of all households reported borrowing food, borrowing money to buy food, or buying food on credit during the last 30 days. "Over three-quarters of households are reducing the number of meals they eat every day. A large percent of households skip entire days of eating at least one to two times per week," C-SAFE said.