Covid-19 fuels hunger in Zimbabwe’s urban areas

  • Written by Kitsepile Nyathi
  • Published on 26th March 2021
 
People queue at money transfer service in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on March 31, 2020. PHOTO | AFP
 
  • “Families will find it difficult to put food on the table, most of them have been stuck at home and were not able to go to work, the fortunate ones will skip meals while those without will have to go to bed with an empty stomach.” – Francesca Erdelmann, WFP country director.
 
  • Cases of food insecurity have risen in urban areas of Zimbabwe. The World Food Programme (WFP) have stated that 2.4 million citizens are facing difficulty in meeting basic food needs. A new report by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVac) has found that the number of inner-city residents who will be unable to meet cereal requirements this year has risen to 42% compared to 30% in 2019. The WFP has reported that there is reduction in living standards in poor urban areas where 83% of households cannot afford essential food items such as salt and cooking oil compared to 76.8% in 2019.
  • The economy has worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an enforced national lockdown and land border closures. Currently, half of the population of Zimbabwe is relying on aid agencies to meet their basic food needs because of the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and consecutive droughts.
  • Read the Full Story at https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/rest-of-africa/covid-19-zimbabwe-hunger-3341454
       

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