savethechildren.net

Zimbabwe is prone to a large number of disasters, in particular droughts, floods, fires, and HIV/AIDS pandemic. Shortages of food and the spread of disease continue to threaten the lives and well-being of children and their families. The situation for

children in Zimbabwe is deteriorating. Nearly one-third of children in Zimbabwe are malnourished and acute malnutrition continues to rise. Children lack access to basic education, health care and daily essentials for survival.

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savethechildren.net

Save the Children’s Presence in ZimbabweSave the children has worked in Zimbabwe for nearly 25 years. Food assistance is being provided to more than 200,000 children and families and Save the Children is enabling families to prepare for the future by distributing seeds and small livestock, and helping to set up vegetable gardens. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Save the Children is providing drugs to treat cholera and educating communities on how to avoid infection, as well as providing food so that safe cholera treatment camps can be set up to prevent further contamination. Our focus areas include health, hunger relief, education, child protection and material and psychosocial support.

Early Warning SystemsSave the Children established a food security information system for defining levels of vulnerability, regular livelihoods monitoring and early warning advocacy to ensure needs match with response

Preparedness and mitigationThe Protracted Relief Program has a disaster risk reduction component that focuses on reducing the impacts of natural disasters on the people of Zimbabwe. We have implemented drought mitigation measures through crop diversification, water harvesting, conservation farming in semi-arid operational areas, restocking projects among others. In partnership with EU, Netherlands Embassy, the ‘Upper Zambai Valley Integrated Livelihoods Project’ aims to reduce extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition through an innovative and creative “demand–led” program. Community Based Planning (CBP), and the community development plans are used as the foundation for the project design and planning. Food security, livelihoods and social protection activities have included community based planning, social protection schemes, agriculture and livestock support and water and sanitation.

Left: Tendayi and Chipo (not their real names), five, sit outside a pre-school where they are learning how to read and write in one of Harare’s poorest outskirts, Zimbabwe.

Right: Leonard, his wife Mutoti and son Tinashi, 14, tending to their newly planted maize seed, Zimbabwe.

Cover: Isabel, 13, at Save the Children’s reception center for deported children in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe.