Highlights
• Zimbabwe’s food insecure population at the current peak of the hunger season has increased from 1.5 million people to 2.8 million people based on the results of a rapid assessment that was conducted by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) in January 2016. This translates into approximately 30% of the rural population, representing a rise of 87% from the May 2015 projections. UNICEF and partners are scaling up efforts to respond to the increased humanitarian needs.
• In response to the dire food and nutrition situation, the government declared a state of drought disaster on 4 th February 2016 and presented a Humanitarian Appeal of US $1.5 billion for food and nutrition, agriculture, water, education, and health sectors.
• The ZimVAC Rapid Assessment revealed a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 5.7%, a level that has never been reached in the country in the last 15 years.
• UNICEF continues to respond to the drought through the US $1,732,576 grant from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF). WASH services are reaching 65,000 people and 33,012 pregnant and lactating women and children under five are being provided with lifesaving nutrition interventions and care. Regular programmes are also addressing the needs of women and children and helping to build the resilience of the affected populations.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
2.8 million People facing food and nutrition insecurity during the period JanuaryMarch 2016 (ZimVAC, Feb 2016)
219 Suspected typhoid cases and 1 death reported (MoHCC, Feb 2016)
69,224 Drought affected people reached with hygiene promotion to prevent water and sanitation related diseases (UNICEF, 2016)
UNICEF Zimbabwe 2016 Humanitarian Requirements
$US 12.2 million
96% Funding Gap