By Evans Dakwa
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has launched a funding appeal to towards mitigating the impact of the El Nino induced drought currently facing the Southern African country. UNICEF’s appeal is earmarked to provide emergency support to at least 866 000 children affected by the phenomenon.
“UNICEF is urgently appealing for USD 84.9 million to fund its emergency response aimed at assisting children and women affected by the El Nino crisis in Zimbabwe. This funding will provide life-saving interventions to 1.34 million people, including 866,000 children, amidst a complex humanitarian crisis exacerbated by water and food shortages,” read a statement contained in a press release.
The El Nino induced drought has affected the whole country and very few families will be food sufficient until the next possible harvest with children and women bearing the brute force of the drought’s impact.
“We are particularly concerned about the vulnerability of children in this current emergency. Decreased access to clean water and a poor diet heightens the risk of malnutrition and diarrheal diseases among children and impacts on their rights to education and protection with the full impact of these intersecting factors expected to manifest only later. Hence the need for a front-facing preventive strategy to avert excess deaths in the months to come,” said UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe Dr Nicholas Alipui.
He also urged the donor community to generously support UNICEF’s appeal, emphasizing the critical need to secure children’s rights to health, education, and protection during this crisis.
“The funding will help mitigate child morbidity and mortality, prevent malnutrition and provide treatment, enhance water access, ensure continuous learning for children, and protect children against abuse and exploitation. It will also help strengthen the resilience of household to deal with the crisis,” stressed Dr Alipui.
The UNICEF appeal is part of the UN-interagency appeal recently launched to support the Government’s response to the emergency caused by El Nino