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More Than a Third of the Zimbabwean Population Will Need Food Assistance by Early 2008

By Karoliina Gröhn

June 8, 2007

There may well be just one country in the world where three-quarters of all school teachers are failing to show up at work simply because they cannot afford the bus fare – a week after receiving a 600 % raise. [1] Welcome to today’s Zimbabwe – once Southern Africa’s “Bread Basket”, a country with vast resources and an admired infrastructure. Today, Zimbabwe is struggling to survive under world-record inflation, currently at 3,714%.  But teachers are not the only ones having trouble reporting to work.  Doctors and nurses, on strike over poor salary and working conditions, are deliberately staying away from work in many of the country’s hospitals. [2]

In a country where between 20-33 % (depending on the source) of the adult population is HIV positive, this is certainly frightening news. [3, 4] Over 3,000 Zimbabweans die of AIDS related illnesses every week.  Child mortality rates are on the rise as parents are failing to provide their children with adequate nutrition.  In 1990, the child mortality rate in Zimbabwe was at 80 deaths per 1,000 live births.  Fourteen years later, in 2004, the rate had climbed up to 129 deaths per 1,000 live births. [5] As the economical situation continues to crumble, these numbers can be expected to rise.  As it is, well over 10 % (1.3 million) of the country’s 11.8 million citizens are orphans, mostly due to AIDS. [6]

As patients in need of immediate care are being turned away from clinics and hospitals, the situation has become so severe that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described it as “war-like”. [7] In response to the chaos, the ICRC has begun increasing its humanitarian aid to the country.  The organization has opened new health clinics and started training new medical staff in the countryside, which has been hit the hardest by the so-called “Brain Drain” – the rapid emigration of almost all educated professionals from the country. [8]

Frequent strikes and the inability to cope with the world-record inflation come as no surprise, as the country has been in political turmoil for years.  Many see the deteriorating economy as a direct result of President Robert Mugabe’s land reform policies.  As the government has tried to return White-owned farms to Blacks, much of the land has in reality been left deserted.  Zimbabwe – once the region’s “Bread Basket” – now relies heavily on imported food.  This year, only 10 % of needed grains have been planted [9] and now the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) worry that one third of the population (4.1 million people) will be needing food assistance by early 2008. [10]

According to a joint FAO and WFP report that was published on June 5, about 352,000 tons of cereals and 90,000 tons of other food aid will be needed to keep Zimbabwe from famine.  Approximately 2.1 million people will face serious nutrition shortages by the end of the summer, but the number is likely to double by the beginning of next year. [11]

Meanwhile, the political turmoil continues.  On May 26, the police raided what was reportedly the opposition party’s (Movement for Democratic Change) routine meeting in Harare, arresting nearly 200 officials and supporters.  All of them were later released, but only after reports of violence in police custody surfaced. [12] The same week brought other news as well.  The three month-old ban on all peaceful protests was extended. Security forces in the country continue to be on high alarm. [13] As a result, Zanu-PF requested a postponement on the MDC/Zanu-PF mediation talks.  South African President Thabo Mbeki, whom the Southern African Development Community appointed as a mediator between the parties in March, had initiated a meeting between MDC Secretary Generals Professors Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti, and Zanu-PF Ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche.  The meeting would have taken place during the first weekend of June, but as of this date, it has failed to occur. [14]

As an organization that believes in development in place of short-term relief, the IIJD is saddened by the recent developments in Zimbabwe.  The fact that there is an urgent need for food aid is a direct result of discriminatory governmental policies and poor management of resources.  Zimbabwe’s dysfunctional government, which is supported by poor leadership and inept economic and political institutions, is the root cause of the current crisis.  The importance of a real separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as free and fair elections, cannot be stressed enough.  Zimbabwe needs to address its governmental problems soon in order to recover from the serious and worsening situation it is currently in.

In April 2007, the IIJD issued a “Call for Action” for Zimbabwe and has since then continued to monitor the impending situation in the country.  Three months later, the situation has only developed into more problematic.  The IIJD is alarmed by the recent developments and continues to call upon the international community to help resolve the distressing situation in Zimbabwe before any more lives are lost and before the conflict develops into further civil unrest.