This archive report was first published on 5 October 2019.
October 5, 2019
As the worst drought in history grips Zimbabwe, families are struggling to survive on a single meal a day. The effects of the El Nino weather cycle have left the country's agricultural sector in shambles, exacerbating the economic crisis that has seen inflation soar to over 900 percent.
"During the day we have wild fruit collected by the children, and at night we have smaller portions of sadza with vegetables," said Kufakunesu, a resident of Buhera, one of the areas hardest hit by the drought. "We have reduced our food portions so that it's enough for everyone," she added.
But there are days when "my husband and I don't eat at all" to make sure the children have some food, she said. The situation is dire, with over five million rural Zimbabweans facing food shortages before the next harvest in 2020.
According to the World Food Programme, most of Zimbabwe's 60 districts will have exhausted their staple maize stocks by October. The UN has extended its appeal for aid, from $234 million in February to $331 million to feed the combined total of over seven million Zimbabweans, roughly half the country's population.
Despite the challenges, some families are finding ways to cope. In Joni, a neighbouring village, 49-year-old Fungai Mugombe, one of three wives and a mother of seven, used the money provided by the UN's World Food Programme to set up a simple wire mesh making project. "People buy the mesh wire for fencing, and we make a small profit. I sometimes exchange the fences with food," she said.
