Food Assistance in Zimbabwe - World Food Programme 2008

Since the late 1990s the combined effects of a rapidly declining economy recurrent drought as well as the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have had a devastating impact on Zimbabwe. In addition the people of Zimbabwe are coping with the impacts of an unprecedented cholera outbreak the world's highest inflation rate and one of the world's lowest life expectancies. Over 5 million people are in need of food assistance. Another year of erratic weather is anticipated in 2009 which combined with the failure to procure and adequately distribute seed stock is expected to lead to another failed harvest. Signs of deteriorating food security have prompted the World Food Programme (WFP) to urgently expand food distributions to reach over 4 million people from the original 1.7 million caseload. CIDA's contribution is supporting WFP to help provide targeted food assistance to the most vulnerable populations in Zimbabwe including orphans and other vulnerable children the chronically ill the displaced and the asset-poor living in the most food-insecure areas in the country. Activities also focus on helping to increase the resilience of targeted vulnerable groups to manage the effects that seasonal shocks have on crops.