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Paidamoyo Chipunza in Binga
THE number of people in need of food aid here is likely to increase, with stakeholders intervening with relief aid already working on extension of their assistance beyond the initially targeted lean period up to the next harvest season.

This follows poor agriculture yields by most households as a result of drought, which left many families food insecure.
In an interview with The Herald during a cash disbursement programme to some of the food insecure family representatives by Save the Children at Siyachilaba Business Centre on Tuesday, Binga district administrator Mrs Lydia Banda-Ndethi said Binga has been hard hit by drought, leaving most families in dire need of food assistance.

“We are hoping His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) would extend assistance to vulnerable households beyond the lean season up to the next harvest season.

“Most of our people did not harvest anything even our traditional master farmers failed to get any meaningful yields,” said Mrs Banda-Ndethi.

Although she could not immediately provide statistics of the number of households who are in need of food assistance, Mrs Banda-Ndethi said food aid to vulnerable households must continue for the survival of affected households.

She said Government was currently working with different development partners, which include Save the Children to mitigate some of the challenges faced by the rural communities.

Ministry of Health and Child Care district nutritionist for Binga Mrs Vanessa Mukundwa said food aid must continue to curb an upward trend of malnutrition levels in the district.

Mrs Mukundwa said according to a malnutrition study conducted in the district at the beginning of the year, about 4,2 percent of under five children in Binga had acute malnutrition.

According to WHO, acute malnutrition of at least 5 percent is considered an emergence.
Speaking at the same occasion, Save the Children nutrition and Health manager Mr Mthulisi Dube said currently, his organisation was assisting about 4 000 people from nearly 1 000 households with cash disbursements.

Mr Dube said under the cash transfer program, each individual gets US$9 every month.
“Those under the programme have been getting these cash transfers for the past three months but we have already started mobilising for more financial resources to extend assistance not only beyond the initial targeted lean season but also to other food insecure households.

We are also mobilising for extension of the programme to other affected districts such as neighbouring Kariba,” said Mr Dube.
The United Nations recently made a flash appeal from development partners to assist food insecure households affected by drought throughout the country.

According to the appeal, an estimated 5,3 million people in the country were estimated to be in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection during the 2018/2019 lean season (October to April), of which 3,8 million are in rural areas. Binga, Mudzi, Buhera and Kariba are hardest hit with their situation categorised as “emergency’’.