Government steps up food aid distribution amid El Nino-induced drought

By Xinhua News Agency

HARARE: The Zimbabwean government is stepping up food aid distribution to people facing food insecurity in the country due to the El Nino-induced drought, a cabinet minister said Tuesday.

Addressing a post-cabinet media briefing, Jenfan Muswere, minister of information, publicity and broadcasting services, said the Grain Movement Command Center has worked tirelessly to ensure that food-insecure people receive the requisite assistance.

He said between May and July, the government provided food aid to 89.2 percent of the targeted population and has now embarked on another three-month cycle aimed at extending food assistance to even more people in need.

“Cabinet advises that the government is now in the second cycle of the blitz grain distribution where a total of 6,215,775 beneficiaries are set to receive assistance from August 6 to October 31,” Muswere said.

In April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster due to the drought, which has reduced cereal production by 77 percent and left 60 percent of the country’s population food insecure.

The government also issued an international appeal for $3.3 billion to respond to the drought crisis.