Man-made element to crisis

Alongside the impact of drought, Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis has also been man-made, the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal (CAP) for 2003/04 has noted. "What initially appeared as a food crisis in Zimbabwe in 2002 has turned into a major humanitarian emergency due to the deteriorating economy, immense policy constraints, the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, and depleted capacity in the social service sector," the appeal said. The country was in its fifth successive year of economic decline and "faces critical shortages of foreign exchange to maintain essential infrastructure, fuel and energy needs". Commentators have linked the country's economic woes to its political crisis and the government's fast-track land reform programme. Aid agency assessments have shown that Zimbabwe still has the highest number of people in need of food aid, around five million, despite recoveries in most other countries affected by last year's food shortages. "As of the end of June, the inflation rate reached 364 percent and is forecast to reach over 500 percent by the end of the year. The industrial and agricultural sectors have been severely undermined by the state of the macroeconomy, causing mass unemployment and worsening rural and urban poverty," the document noted. The UN Inter-Agency appeal also warned that the "rapid and continued decline in the government's capacity to support national food security and sustain life-saving social services will need to be urgently addressed by humanitarian agencies in 2003/04", adding that "a much greater attention to preparedness measures will be necessary to prevent starvation and increasing mortality." A loss of skills in the health and social services sector due to emigration and HIV/AIDS was noted as another factor aggravating the crisis. "Thus, Zimbabwe faces a severe food security crisis in 2003/04. With a cereals deficit close to 1.3 million metric tonnes (mt), the country has sufficient food to feed its population for just four to five months. It is estimated that 5.5 million people will require food aid during the coming year. The Zimbabwe government is unlikely to have the resources to finance a major maize import requirement," the appeal added. The CAP for Zimbabwe covers the period July 2003 to June 2004 and requests nearly US $114 million, mostly for programmes in the social services and agricultural sectors. This amount is over and above the World Food Programme's $308 million call for food aid requirements, made in the Regional Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Southern Africa. GOVERNMENT'S ROLE UNDER FIRE The role of the Zimbabwe government in response to the humanitarian crisis was also highlighted in the appeal. "Despite consistent efforts on the part of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator (UN HC) and agencies throughout the year, coordination and cooperation between the government and the humanitarian agencies could be much improved," the appeal observed in the section on progress over the past year. As an example, it pointed out that while needs assessments are "the cornerstone in planning an effective response" to the crisis, this process has "frequently been difficult and delayed, with negotiations [with government] sometimes taking several months". "The government also strongly influences the operational environment [of aid agencies], including issues such as respect for human rights and humanitarian principles, and NGO operations. NGOs are integral to humanitarian planning and implementation capacity, so that restrictions or delays in building their capacity and constraining their operations impact directly on the speed and volume of aid delivery to beneficiaries," the CAP concluded. Adding that "at the policy level, government commitment is a precondition to the strategic aim of moving toward recovery and a development agenda". It was therefore critical to foster stronger linkages between the government and humanitarian agencies. THE YEAR AHEAD The "main causes of the humanitarian crisis identified in the 2002/03 CA [Consolidated Appeal] were: policy constraints; socio-economic conditions; environmental factors (drought and cyclone Eline); all of which were aggravated by the impact of HIV/AIDS". These factors would still be relevant in the coming year. But the state control of prices, currency exchange rates and a monopoly on the import and marketing of maize and wheat were characteristics of an "economic framework within which the economy has contracted by one-third in four years". This had contributed to greater vulnerability as "structural unemployment is estimated at over 70 percent, and rising, as the major sectors generating employment" and forex continued to contract. The 2003/04 CAP would concentrate on three main areas of humanitarian response: preventing loss of life through food, nutrition, and critical health interventions; mitigating the impact of the crisis on vulnerable groups; and developing a productive dialogue among stakeholders to strengthen coordination and provide focus. It was noted that recovery interventions and policies were essential to reducing Zimbabwe's reliance on international relief assistance and strengthening food security. But recovery "is only viable if a wide range of [policy] reforms takes place" - reforms which the international community was committed to supporting, if they led to a long-term resolution of the problems affecting Zimbabwe's most vulnerable.