UN Issues $415M Zimbabwe Humanitarian Appeal to Bridge 2011 Hunger Season
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Alain Noudehou said one in three children in
Zimbabwe is chronically malnourished and that malnutrition is a factor in
nearly 12,000 child deaths a year in the country
Sandra Nyaira | Washington 03 December 2010
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Zimbabwe, Alain Noudehou,
has issued an appeal to donors for $415 million for 2011, saying an
estimated 1.7 million Zimbabweans face hunger from January through March
when the annual maize harvest begins.
Noudehou said one in three children in Zimbabwe is chronically malnourished.
He said malnutrition is a factor in nearly 12,000 child deaths a year.
Zimbabwe has experienced a decade of food shortages due to drought and – say
experts – as a result of the land reform program launched in 2000 by
President Robert Mugabe, which severely disrupted the agricultural sector as
white operators were ejected.
Christian Care National Director Reverend Forbes Matonga said donor agencies
have already started distributing food in parts of the country most prone to
drought.