The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for an additional US$204 million to support over four million Zimbabweans of the most food-insecure over the next six months.
Millions of Zimbabweans have been devastated by a year of drought, rising hyperinflation and COVID-19 and the approach of the so-called lean season could compound the situation.
The appeal comes ahead of the ‘lean’ season, which risks pushing some 6.9 million people—nearly half of Zimbabwe’s population—into hunger by its March peak. Francesca Edelmann, WFP Zimbabwe’s representative said:
More than half of Zimbabweans in the rural areas are left no alternative but to skip meals, reduce portion size or sell off precious belongings in order to cope.
We are deeply concerned that if WFP does not receive enough funding to reach the four million people it intends to, families will be further pushed to the limit.
At least 7.6 million people have fallen into poverty this year — a million more than in 2019, according to the recent ZimVAC rural livelihoods assessment.