Humanitarian Assistance

Total USAID Humanitarian Funding Level in FY 2009:

USAID has contributed more than $970 million to humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe since 2002, when a region-wide drought struck southern Africa. In Zimbabwe agricultural production was already plummeting with large scale government-sanctioned seizures of commercial farms that displaced tens of thousands of newly-unemployed farm workers. As drought conditions eased, other countries in the region recovered, but Zimbabwe did not. Zimbabwe's economy contracted while inflation soared, and agricultural production remained low under destructive government policies. The crisis was exacerbated by the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, limited access to basic services, poorly maintained infrastructure and violence. In 2005, undertaking draconian measures designed to eliminate informal trade and housing, the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) displaced and/or destroyed livelihoods of 700,000 people through Operation Murambatsvina (Throw Out the Trash). These dire conditions prompted significant displacement within Zimbabwe as well as migration into neighboring countries. Farm and non-farm displacements continue to the present day. From June-August 2008, the GOZ's three-month suspension of non-governmental organization (NGO) operations across the country severely affected the rural and urban poor by preventing humanitarian access for the distribution of food, social and medical services, and material support such as crop inputs for the 2008/2009 planting season. With the adoption of and official endorsement of US dollars and other foreign currency for trade and the lifting of the government monopoly on cereal and agricultural input markets, the economy has steadily improved, enabling a free market to develop and donors to increase agricultural support.

Food Security

Zimbabwe's 2008 maize harvest was among the worst on record due to economic mismanagement, lack of access to seeds and fertilizer, and uneven rainfall. For the 2008-2009 consumption season, USAID/FFP provided Title II emergency food assistance valued at approximately $176 million. The food commodities, which comprised 70 percent of all food aid to Zimbabwe during the year, included cereals, pulses, and vegetable oil. Relief agencies provided emergency food assistance to about seven million people at the peak of the hunger season in early 2009. The US contribution was distributed by WFP and the Consortium for Southern Africa Food Emergency (CSAFE: including CARE, World Vision, and Catholic Relief Services).

Favorably distributed rainfall allowed better cereal production in 2008-9. Still, shortages and delays in deliveries of inputs limited the area planted and constrained yields, and estimates indicated that cereal imports of nearly 700,000 MT, including about 190,000 MT of international food aid, would still be needed to meet national requirements for the 2009-10 consumption year.

Through 2009, access to food improved with dollarization and the end of the GOZ's monopoly on cereal purchase and sales. FEWSNET reported that cereal prices in local markets declined dramatically from December 2008 to June 2009 as the US dollar and other foreign currencies were adopted and finally officially endorsed as currency for trade. Since June, all prices have stabilized. Basic food and non-food commodities are currently readily available for purchase.

In September 2009, monitoring indicated that a large majority of households were still eating cereal that they harvested from their fields. Cereal was also available for purchase in rural and urban areas at prices that have been stable since June. CSAFE monitoring shows that in their areas of operations, household stocks have diminished since the April harvest, but in many areas, the stocks have remained relatively constant over recent months, indicating that most households are successfully buying/bartering to replenish what they use.

USAID/FFP contributions of $167 million in FY09 have again been shared between WFP and CSAFE for distribution. Food aid distribution began at a very small scale in September, and beneficiary numbers will increase slowly through January, potentially reaching approximately 2 million at the peak of the hunger season, should conditions warrant it. Partners target as beneficiaries those who are assessed to be unable to purchase sufficient food. Because conditions have improved drastically since food aid plans were originally developed, it is anticipated that there may be a significant stock of USG food commodities remaining at the end of the season.

Maize imports other than food aid have been minimal, apparently due to the lack of demand. Prevailing low prices suggest that locally produced maize is meeting demand at this point.

As a more durable solution to food insecurity, USAID/OFDA has worked through multiple NGOs to provide agriculture and food security assistance, contributing more than $6 million for food security programming and over $2.5 million for regional food procurement in Zimbabwe for 2009 alone. The programs aim to improve the food security of more than 63,000 small-scale farmers through the construction and rehabilitation of water catchment structures, training on conservation farming, introducing higher yielding agricultural production systems, use of drought resistant crops, improvement of livestock health, and the establishment of goat production for income generation. USAID/OFDA provided agricultural inputs for approximately 12,000 households during the current 2009/2010 planting season. These measures will work to reduce future relief dependency by supporting commercially-driven programs that successfully make agricultural inputs available to a greater number of small-scale farmers and lead to increased food production.

In 2008 Zimbabwe suffered a disastrous cholera epidemic that claimed almost 4300 lives of the 98,500 reported cases in 60 of Zimbabwe's 62 districts. Cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe are typically small seasonal occurrences; but, due to the breakdown of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and health infrastructure, the outbreak spread wildly all over the country. Case fatality rates were abysmal. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to identify humanitarian needs, evaluate response effectiveness, conduct field assessments, and participate in U.N. health, logistics, and WASH cluster coordination meetings. The DART partnered with International Organizations, NGO's for the provision of emergency relief supplies, humanitarian coordination and information management, health programs, WASH interventions, and social mobilization activities.

Total USAID FY 2009 humanitarian assistance in response to the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe was over $7.3 million, of which $6.1 million was provided for WASH programs. These programs targeted the most vulnerable individuals in areas with high reported cholera rates and poorly maintained water and sanitation infrastructure. USAID also contributed $750,000 to WHO for improved data collection and information distribution through the cholera command-and-control center.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), election-related violence in 2008 displaced about 30,000 Zimbabweans, with field reports indicating that the numbers could be significantly higher. Severely limited humanitarian access during the government-imposed NGO ban, made assessment and verification difficult. To address the needs of mobile and vulnerable populations, USAID/OFDA programs supported the provision of basic household commodities and emergency relief supplies to families displaced in urban and rural areas

USAID/OFDA continues to contribute to The Joint Initiative for Urban Zimbabwe, a multi-sectoral program implemented by a consortium of NGOs to provide livelihood support, child protection, and food security for urban and peri-urban households in six provinces. To help alleviate the effects of malfunctioning water and sanitation services in urban areas, an existing USAID-funded program also provides soap, sanitary items, and hygiene promotion awareness to mobile and vulnerable populations.

Donor Coordination
USAID/OFDA contributed $200,000 in FY 2009 to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to encourage better coordination of information, needs assessments, strategic targeting, and program implementation among donors and humanitarian agencies in Zimbabwe. OFDA also provided funds to FAO for coordination of humanitarian agricultural programs.

The Complex Emergency was re-declared on 15OCT09 for FY10, Harare 822 refers.

The latest OFDA situation report and map of the USG Humanitarian Assistance to Zimbabwe can be found at: USAID website

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Humanitarian Assistance Program Summary 2009 (pdf, 44kb)

Complex Emergency, Situation Report #10, Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 (pdf, 52kb)

Zimbabwe OFDA Country Page