Complicate Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis
people including 113 390 children with safe water for drinking and domestic purposes through bucket chlorination, water trucking and rehabilitation of water supply infrastructure in the cholera affected districts.
“Through the targeted distribution of critical WASH supplies and cluster/case area targeted interventions (CATIs), Unicef in collaboration with government and other partners supported 3 851 households (15 404 people) with hygiene kits comprising soap for handwashing, household water treatment chemicals, water storage containers and information, education and communication (IEC) materials, to stop transmission of cholera cases between and among households,” it said.
“Cumulatively, the CATIs have benefited 72 369 people (32 290 children) in 18 092 families affected by the cholera outbreak.”
Unicef in collaboration with the Health and Child Care ministry and through the national pharmaceutical systems, provided acute watery diarrhoea kits and essential cholera commodities including intravenous fluids, ringers lactate and high-performance tents to support cholera case management in 63 cholera treatment centres across the country which contributed to 5 857 recoveries.
Unicef also provided technical and financial support for Harare and Manicaland provinces to conduct cholera response intra-action review to reflect on the lessons learned, successes, best practices, and difficulties experienced during the response since its onset.
Vulnerability of women and girls to gender-based violence is heightened in humanitarian crises, where violence and discrimination related to an emergency exacerbate pre-existing gender and social inequalities as well as traditional harmful social practices.
The global aid partner said women and girls are disproportionally affected by the protection consequences of drought; an example being women and girls forced to walk long distances to fetch water and food in drought-affected areas, increasing their risk of experiencing sexual violence.
Unicef says climate-induced natural disasters and other humanitarian crises, including human-caused disasters, have weakened the protective environment in Zimbabwe most worryingly, the child protection system.
It says socioeconomic challenges and rising poverty increase the vulnerability of children and families, meaning more school dropout and higher levels of violence against children, emotional stress, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and child labour.
“Currently, 28% of children aged five to 17 years are working. These numbers are expected to increase as food insecurity increases, and, in turn, negatively affect mental health.”
In his 2024 national budget statement last month, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube proposed to allocate $6,3 trillion of his $58 trillion budget to health.
The allocation represented 10,8% and was a decline from the 11,2% allocated in 2023, below the Abuja Declaration target of 15%.
Over the years, the health sector has been poorly funded by the government, and in most cases, the funding has been delayed.
Health spending as a share of total government expenditure is an indicator of the priority given to health.
The Abuja Declaration target remains an elusive one for the country.
Vote allocations still remain below regional and global benchmarks, even as the country grapples with a cholera outbreak, where addressing this requires significant public investments in WASH.
Government has allocated $608,3 billion towards WASH, which represents just 0,4% of gross domestic product (GDP), which is way below the 1,5% of GDP benchmark set under the eThekwini Declaration (2008).
The Global Task Force on Cholera Control considers WASH investments as the foundation to achieving the goal of reducing cholera deaths by 90% by 2030.
In this, Unicef says it is seeking US$26,8 million to address the impacts of an El Niño-induced drought that is expected to result in water scarcity, food insecurity and nutrition crises.
The appeal also considers potential flooding hazards as the 2023/24 rainfall season unfolds, along with epidemics and outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases, including the ongoing cholera outbreak.
It also aims to address the protection needs of children who may be on the move due to a potential large influx of returnees from South Africa once their exemption permits expire.
Out of the total appeal, US$5 million is planned to tackle the ongoing nutrition crisis, which has been exacerbated by food insecurity.
An additional US$4 million will support 3 000 households with six months of payments and provide a onetime payment of US$100 to 18 600 households in foodinsecure districts supported by Unicef.
This, Unicef says, will help them better prepare for and respond to the impending drought caused by El Niño.
“Approximately US$6 million will be designated to address the water and sanitation crisis.
“The primary goal is to contain the cholera outbreak and prevent further diarrhoeal disease outbreaks.”
Unicef says its appeal takes into consideration “the high national child food poverty rate of 83%, where children are not receiving the diverse diet they need for healthy growth and development”.
Without this funding, 1,6 million children are at risk of dying from preventable diseases and conditions such as measles and malnutrition, and more than half a million out-of-school children may fail to return to school.
“This 2024 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for US$26,8 is a significant (44%) reduction from 2023 total funding requirements.
“This is due to a geographical focus in 2024 on the six most vulnerable districts (Beitbridge, Bikita, Binga, Buhera, Chipinge and Chiredzi Districts) with overlapping risks, including the risk of cholera and the projected impact of El Niño.”