United States Provides Support to Urgent Food Security Needs and Recovery in Zimbabwe
Harare, October 6 – The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP), is responding to the needs of Zimbabweans who require food aid during the 2010-2011 lean season.
USAID is partnering with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the lead agency in a consortium which includes ACDI/VOCA and CARE, to implement the Promoting Recovery in Zimbabwe (PRIZE) program. This two-year initiative will address the urgent food needs of vulnerable Zimbabweans while laying the foundation for recovery and improved food security. Program activities will help increase household food production, improve access to markets, raise household incomes, and enhance community resiliency when faced with natural disasters and economic shocks.
Under the program, USAID’s partners will provide approximately 24,400 metric tons of food to vulnerable households in Zimbabwe over the next two years. The program will also assist vulnerable homes through community-based programs to improve long term food security. Projects include supporting small- and large-scale irrigation projects; rehabilitating livestock assets such as cattle dip tanks; promoting conservation agriculture; improving livestock practices; and training village savings and lending groups to manage income generation activities. Approximately 90,000 households will benefit from the PRIZE initiative.
PRIZE consortium local partners, including the Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT), the Organization of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP), and the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE), will support community initiatives that promote recovery and improved food security.
“Humanitarian assessments show that large numbers of people in Zimbabwe still require targeted assistance to meet their minimum food needs,” said USAID/Zimbabwe Mission Director Karen Freeman. “Through the PRIZE Consortium, the United States will both address immediate needs and help build agricultural infrastructure in Zimbabwe to help eliminate the long-term need for food aid.”
CRS Country Representative, Paul Townsend, concurred, “We are proud to be working with USAID, the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders to foster long-term food security and develop community skills in Zimbabwe.”
The food security situation in Zimbabwe has improved this year following a three percent increase in the national harvest, yet a recent UNICEF study shows that chronic malnutrition, especially in some children, calls for sustained support from the international community during this transition period. Livelihood recovery is a key element of this U.S. government-supported program and includes bolstering local partners to enable communities to increase farm production, to access to markets and to create general economic stability for vulnerable populations.
The United States government is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe. Since 2002, the United States has contributed more than $1 billion to humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe. For further information, please visit USAID’s Food for Peace website at: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/ffp/ or
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/ffp/zimbabwe.fs.09.21.10.pdf
Comments and queries should be addressed to Cary Jimenez, USAID Communications Officer. E-mail: [email protected] Tel. +263 4 250 992
Or Sharon Hudson-Dean, US Embassy Public Affairs Officer: [email protected] Tel. +263 4 758800-1
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