UN seeks US$378m for Zimbabwe

Ralph Mutema
Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:54:00 +0000
THE United Nations Monday launched an appeal for 378 million dollars in aid to Zimbabwe, saying the country’s humanitarian crisis has eased but needed more support to abate.“This is a critical moment for the UN and partners to support both humanitarian and recovery activities in Zimbabwe,” UN assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs Catherine Bragg said addressing a news conference in Harare.
“Although the country’s humanitarian situation has improved, it remains fragile,” she said.
The aid request covers operations by the UN as well as aid agencies.Six million people, nearly half the population, need basic water and sanitation services, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.
The request amounts to almost half the 719 million dollars that the UN sought last year at the height of Zimbabwe’s crisis.About 64 percent of that request was funded, OCHA said.
Bragg said that political changes in Zimbabwe have helped ease the humanitarian crisis.
Since the formation of the inclusive Government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader, hospitals have re-opened and basic services have improved.