THE United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in Zimbabwe says it supported more than 200 000 children with learning materials for continued access to formal and non-formal education including early learning between January and February 2024.
The first term ended last month, with schools expected to resume lessons on May 7.
Unicef is a UN agency whose purpose is to ensure special protection for the most disadvantaged children.
According to the UN agency, at the onset of the school year in January 2024, it launched a cholera prevention back-to-school campaign as the country was battling a serious cholera outbreak.
“A total of 201 507 children (101 895 girls and 99 612 boys) were supported by Unicef through the provision of learning materials for continued access to formal and non-formal education including early learning between January and February 2024,” Unicef Zimbabwe’s humanitarian situation latest report read.
“In March and April 2024, as Zimbabwe is currently facing El Niño, the Unicef education section is planning to co-operate with MoPSE [Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education] and cluster members to understand the current situation in schools, as well as scaling up its efforts in collaborating with other sectors such as nutrition and WASH [water, sanitation and health] to mitigate the impact on schools and learners,” the report said.
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Unicef also said 1 738 women and girls accessed gender-based violence risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions in January and February 2024.
The report further indicated that it was seeking US$22,7 million to ameliorate the humanitarian situation in the country this year.
“Unicef Zimbabwe is appealing for US$22,7 million to meet the increased humanitarian needs in the country in 2024. This is due to the multiple hazards of El Niño-induced drought, flash floods, protracted cholera outbreak, polio outbreak and economic crisis.
“The funding will enable Unicef to provide critical humanitarian assistance to two million people including 978 611 children in the affected areas.
“Unicef Zimbabwe has received a total of US$8,1 million (36% of the total funding requirement) from various donors that include ECHO, Gavi The Vaccine Alliance, Norway, USAid BHA, USAid (CDC), USA Permanent Mission, FCDO, European Commission, UN OCHA-Central Emergency Response Fund and Unicef Global Humanitarian Thematic Funds,” the report said.
Zimbabwe’s humanitarian context remains fragile and complex, chronically grappling with climate-induced shocks including floods and the drought, exacerbated by economic instability.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the drought, which is ravaging the country, a state of disaster in a bid to marshal resources and avert possible starvation.
Mnangagwa said the country needed US$2 billion to tackle hunger caused by low rainfall which has wiped out about half of the maize crop.
He said at least 2,7 million people were expected to be food insecure and the country faced a grain deficit of 680 000 tonnes.