A United Nations (UN) official has pleaded with the international community of nations to render assistance to Zimbabwe following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai.
UN assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator Ursula Mueller was on a two-day tour of areas affected by the cyclone in Manicaland, as well as assessing the food security situation inZimbabwe as a whole.
Speaking to the media at the end of her tour, Mueller said:
We need the international community to stand with people of Zimbabwe and urgently provide the funds needed to scale up humanitarian efforts and avert a further deterioration of the situation.
Initial estimates based on the assessment of the current trends of the agriculture production indicate that over six million would require humanitarian assistance until next harvest in April 2020.
Mueller suggested to the government of Zimbabwe that it should put in place early warning systems to prepare for disasters as well as to build capacity to deal with the impact of the same.