In Numbers
9,824 mt of food assistance distributed USD 428,592 cash-based transfers made
USD 58.6 m next six months (December ‘22 – May ‘23) net funding requirements
486,608 people assisted in November 2022 through in-kind and cash transfers
Operational Updates
In November, WFP reached 469,835 people under the lean season response and finalized the distribution cycle early December, serving a total 559,328 people with emergency food assistance. Double distributions were conducted and are also planned for February, with a single distribution to be carried out in January, to deal with access challenges during the rainy season. The lean season response fits into the national Food Deficit Mitigation Programme, whereby the Government plans to cover 52 of the 60 rural districts reaching 2.1million people with maize grain and WFP eight districts reaching 700,000 people with cereals, pulses and vegetable oil. Together, the Government and WFP will reach all 3.8 million people projected to be cereal insecure by the rural analysis of the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC).
WFP supported a review and update of the state of school feeding in Zimbabwe, first carried out with the Government in 2017. Using the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) methodology, relevant stakeholders examined the policy framework, the financial capacity, the institutional capacity and coordination, the design and implementation, and the community participation in school feeding initiatives. The SABER report and capacity strengthening plan lays out the building blocks for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to design and implement a homegrown approach to school feeding, which Zimbabwe has committed to, as a Member of the African Union.
Gweru’s City Council in partnership with WFP, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and the Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (ARDAS), aired information on the new urban agricultural policy through local radio stations. Interactive sessions are planned in December, to clarify any doubts that residents may have on the application of this policy, which is among the first of its kind in Zimbabwe.
ARDAS officers shared seasonal forecasts to 7,200 farmers and carried out trainings on the interpretation of weather and climate information for informed decision-making, using the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture Approach (PICSA) across five districts (Mwenezi, Masvingo, Chipinge, Rushinga and Mangwe). Pioneered by the University of Reading, PICSA enables farmers to make informed decisions based on locally specific weather and climate information and participatory decision-making tools.
Source: World Food Programme