UN launches $270 million appeal

The United Nations is appealing for $276 million in aid for Zimbabwe, and says the humanitarian situation in the country is likely to continue deteriorating in 2006. The UN Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for Zimbabwe, launched on Wednesday, said the outlook for the year ahead was bleak: at least three million people would require food aid, as only an estimated 600,000 mt of maize had been harvested, compared to a national requirement of 1.8 million mt. On Thursday the UN World Food Programme announced that it had concluded an agreement with the Zimbabwean government on the delivery of food aid to the millions in need. "Among the expected development in 2006 are decreases in the quality and access to basics services; deepening of urban poverty; ... continued emigration, both legally and illegally; new farm evictions; and deepening overall vulnerability to natural disasters," the CAP noted. Given this scenario, the various agencies participating in the CAP expected that "unless appropriate humanitarian action is taken, the use of negative coping mechanisms will increase, placing vulnerable persons at further risk, deepening poverty and minimising opportunities for long-term recovery". Though many of the humanitarian challenges facing Zimbabwe were common to countries in Southern Africa - particularly the 'triple threat' of HIV/AIDS, food shortages and a decline in the provision of basic services - the country has suffered rapid economic decline, and formal and informal migration of skilled and unskilled labour. However, the CAP noted that these problems "could be countered by appropriate government policies". The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and the WFP, signed after several weeks of discussions, lays out the framework for food aid distributions and clarifies government and WFP responsibilities. "WFP welcomes the signing of this agreement, which will certainly assist in meeting our plans to deliver food aid to hungry people across Zimbabwe," Kevin Farrell, WFP Country Director for Zimbabwe, said in a statement. "This MOU sets out the modalities for food aid deliveries and we are encouraged by the commitment to ensure procedures are formalised and followed," Farrell added. With generous support from a range of donors, WFP and its partner NGOs provided food aid to two million people in November, in addition to ongoing school feeding programmes. The relief agency is gearing up to feed more than three million Zimbabweans through vulnerable-group feeding programmes, and provide support to orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS. The MOU is to run until the end of June 2006, when the food security of the most vulnerable will be reassessed. In signing the MOU today, Nicholas Goche, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, expressed appreciation for the WFP's efforts to assist vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. For the full CAP go to: http://ochaonline.un.org/