Norway limits aid to humanitarian assistance

Norway said on Thursday it would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe, despite a recent proposal to formally remove the country from its select list of main development aid recipients. "We remain committed to providing humanitarian assistance through the United Nations and its implementing partners to those who are in need. But it has become clear that Zimbabwe no longer fulfils the role of suitable partner and, therefore, the [Norwegian] government has proposed that it should be formally dropped from the list [of key development partners]," Norwegian ambassador to Zimbabwe Kjell Storlokken told IRIN. During the two years since the Scandinavian country decided to freeze a large part of its aid, Zimbabwe has foregone more than Zim $600 million (US $753,000) annually in development assistance. Storlokken noted that Norway had aleady cut economic ties with Zimbabwe following the "flawed 2002 presidential elections" and the "deterioration in governance of the country". In 2002 the European Union (EU) imposed smart sanctions against Zimbabwe's government to protest against President Robert Mugabe's election victory. At the time the EU, the Commonwealth and the United States declared the election was not a true reflection of the will of the electorate. The sanctions were also linked to the government's controversial land reform programme. Over four million people in Zimbabwe face food scarcity, with HIV/AIDS compounding the impact of shortages on vulnerable households. The number of people in need is expected to rise to over 5 million at the height of the lean season between January and April.