The Government of Denmark has donated about USD$3 million in a bid to mitigate the impact of drought in Zimbabwe.
Denmark’s government donated a total of DKK 20 Million which is expected to assist numerous households and communities for the next six months providing cash-payments and strengthening on-going Disaster Risk Management efforts.
The contribution was made through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF), which is working with small-scale farmers in 18 districts to implement resilience-building activities.
ZRBF aims to contribute to the ability of communities to withstand the impact of shocks and stresses such as droughts.
The targeted districts are Nkayi, Beitbridge, Binga, Bubi, Matobo, Chiredzi, Insiza Kariba and Lupane.
The other districts are Mberengwa, Mbire, Mudzi, Mutoko, Mwenezi, Nyanga, Umguza, Umzingwane and Zvishavane.
Zimbabwe is experiencing a devastating drought after receiving less than average rainfall in the 2018-2019 farming season, leaving an estimated 5.5 million rural and 2.2 million urban people vulnerable and food insecure.
Continued drought is predicted in the 2019-2020 season because of the delayed onset of rains.
Danish Minister of Development, Rasmus Prehn, said the grant will go a long way to mitigate the negative impact of the drought for the next six months.
“Whilst there has been progress in developing countries, hunger still remains a challenge and climate change is a large contributing factor. It is important that we take action with long term solutions to avert the continued food insecurity such as that currently unfolding in Southern Africa,” said Prehn.
United Nations Development Program Resident Representative, Georges van Montfort, noted that the current drought risks eroding the hard work farmers have put into building resilience.
“It is important to protect these development gains and to prevent communities from sliding back into food insecurity,” he said.
