Zimbabwe / Humanitarian needs in the country remain grave
HARARE, Zimbabwe, February 26, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Daily press briefing by the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general
On Zimbabwe, the UN humanitarian mission to Zimbabwe, made up of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led by the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Catherine Bragg, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), has concluded its mission to that country, and the mission reports that it found that humanitarian needs in the country remain grave.
Despite tremendous effort to contain one of the world’s worst cholera outbreaks in recent times, major challenges remain. There are areas, the mission said, where the results of our concerted efforts can be seen in declining number of new infections, but there are many places which have not been reached with the required services and where cholera continues to spread.
Food security is another major issue, the team added. A growing number of households are reducing the number of meals they have per day. There will be a need for continued food assistance throughout 2009. The scale of the needs will be determined by upcoming assessments.
Farmers must obtain all the agriculture inputs they need for the next planting season, which begins in September and October. Otherwise, next year could be like this one, in which 7 million people require food aid.
The mission said that its discussions with the Prime Minister, Prime Minister [Morgan] Tsvangirai, and a number of cabinet ministers were positive, and the mission received assurances of full cooperation. OCHA said that the international community has been very generous to the people of Zimbabwe, and they may receive requests for additional resources based on new assessments of the evolving situation.
The Secretary-General, speaking to reporters in South Africa today, said that he expects to receive a report from Catherine Bragg on her recommendations on how to mobilize more humanitarian assistance and dealing with refugee issues. And that transcript is now available upstairs.
SOURCE : United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General
