Urban vulnerables relieved after receiving cash donations

103 700 people from eight urban centres have so far received cash assistance  from the World Food Programme (WFP) due to the coronavirus crises.

The WFP has the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Zimbabwe fight against hunger amid pandemic. The towns that have benefited include Gokwe, Redcliff, Kwekwe, Ruwa, Chinhoyi, Buhera, Chipinge, and Chegutu.

WFP aimed to reach out to 326 004 people in 22 vulnerable urban domains in September, a climb from its target of 292 865 people across 19 urban areas in August.

Each family will receive an amount of US$12 for a period of six months. USAID: Zimbabwe Mission Director, Mr Art Brown,confirmed the news while giving a statement.

“The United States remains committed to the people of Zimbabwe and we have provided a US$10 million support in terms of cash transfers for over 103 700 vulnerable Zimbabweans in eight urban areas,” confirmed Mr Brown,

“In addition, we are providing over US$60 million to support food distributions for nearly one million people in rural areas during the current lean season. During the pandemic, we will continue to prioritise our critical health and humanitarian assistance activities,” continued Mr Brown.

In partnership, both USAID and WFP will pay much attention of vulnerable and food-insecure families, particularly women, people who are unemployed and people suffering from chronic illness or disability.

WFP Zimbabwe Representative and Country Director, Ms Francesca Erdelmann thanked the Urban Social Assistance Programme for coming in handy at a crucial time.

“WFP projections indicate that by year’s end, the number of food-insecure people will have surged by nearly 50 percent to 8.6 million – a staggering 60 percent of the population. In urban areas, where ongoing lockdown measures have triggered a massive loss of livelihoods, the number of food-insecure people is expected to rise to 3.3 million, from 2.2 million, as the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic become more pronounced,” said the official.