AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - “We are doing all we can to help the people of Zimbabwe, but funds are lacking,” Caritas says

Harare (Agenzia Fides) - Caritas humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe are under threat due to a lack of funding that could put tens of thousands of people at risk. This is what was expressed in an alert from Caritas International in a statement sent to Agenzia Fides.
Zimbabwe is in the middle of a severe humanitarian crisis with half of the population reliant on food aid, the economy, healthcare, education systems collapsed, and cholera epidemic.
Caritas Internationalis launched an appeal for $7 million in January to help a quarter of a million people avoid starvation, provide health care, and clean water to 16,000 homes.
Only 50 percent of the appeal has been met so far. Due to the lack of funding, Caritas Zimbabwe has only been able to place food orders for two months.
Caritas Zimbabwe Director Cornelius Hamadziripi said, “Zimbabweans face hunger and disease. They urgently need more resources to ensure they receive food over the next six months. They are the innocent victims of the collapse of Zimbabwe. The world cannot abandon us as we face this tragedy.”
The gap in funding comes just as optimism is beginning to be felt in Zimbabwe. The catalyst is a power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party.
Mr. Hamadziripi said, “Before, one crisis followed another crisis, leaving people with no breathing space. The new deal addresses some of the political challenges that we face and we hope people support the agreement inside and outside Zimbabwe.”
The Caritas appeal would provide monthly food rations for 164,212 people to prevent them suffering from malnutrition and death. Children die the quickest from hunger. Caritas will provide 88,841 children at school with a daily midday meal.
In addition, to improve self-sufficiency in feeding the population, 4,607 homes will receive training in farming, from Caritas, to improve their own ability to grow crops.
Health centres will be given supplementary feeding along with essential drugs. Caritas will provide basic health care for 5000 people.
To fight the spread of cholera, Caritas staff will rehabilitate water points, build toilets, distribute aqua tablets and promote education on cholera prevention. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/4/2009)