This revised Emergency Appeal seeks 5,181,321 Swiss francs in total to support the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) reach 38,330 people with a focus on food security, water, health and hygiene promotion, and nutrition and livelihoods (carried out through cash distributions). This appeal has been revised due to the worsening drought situation, particularly in the South of Zimbabwe and the increasing number of affected people, estimated to reach 2,820,000 (30% of the country population ). It will be updated and adjusted based on the evolving nature of the crisis, new developments and assessments (as they are carried out).
Needs assessment and beneficiary selection
Zimbabwe has been experiencing recurrent food shortages and trends over the years have shown that the rural areas are the most vulnerable during these periods. It has now been estimated that approximately 2,820,000 are affected this year, which is 30% of the population as compared to 16% of the population (1.5 million people) that had been predicted as likely to be affected during the peak lean season from January - March. This has been highlighted by the country’s declaration of a national disaster in February of this year and a request for international assistance. The drought and food insecurity situation is affecting most parts of the country, however, the southern regions are the worst affected.
The ZIMVAC assessment report highlights the need to scale up nutrition specific interventions to promote intake and to encourage the production of diverse crops. Malnutrition remains a challenge especially in children < 5 years. The challenge of food insecurity is exacerbated by the continued poor storage of crops, hence continued need to support improved practices of food storage. Whilst the immediate needs of these households is food assistance, ZRCS proposes that any food assistance provided should be complemented by livelihoods recovery interventions, such as seed provision, training in climate smart agriculture and water and sanitation activities.
Beneficiary selection continues to be informed by a community based selection approach which is participatory and community led. ZRCS will ensure that the selection of beneficiaries is consistent with IFRC’s commitment to strive for gender equality and diversity, and to ensure non-discrimination in the provision of services to the most vulnerable. The Ministries of Social Services, Agriculture as well as the District Civil Protection Units and the Drought Relief committees will also be consulted to inform the development of the selection criteria. The ZRCS selection criteria will put much emphasis on the vulnerable groups in society, such as women (e.g. women headedhouseholds, pregnant and lactating women), the disabled, the elderly and orphans or vulnerable children (OVCs).
Based on the ZRCS vulnerability selection criteria, the ZIMVAC report, as well as the data provided by the Drought Relief Committee, the selection criteria in the targeted communities include: Labour constrained households ,Child, women and elderly headed households, families with members with disabilities, families with members who are chronically ill ,Households with pregnant and breast-feeding women, and children under five years, households with malnourished clients, referred by the Ministry of Health for food assistance, households with limited access to productive land and livestock , targeting people living with HIV, and those on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) treatment