USAID boosts funding to resilience activities

Urban populations will benefit from the contribution through WFP’s Urban Resilience
Building Programme which aims to reach up to 140,000 households across 19 urban
domains. Additionally, 14,000 rural households in eight districts will receive support through
WFP’s Food Assistance for Assets Programme. Both programmes will develop community
skills and create assets to better prepare communities with sustainable livelihood
opportunities – and improve their capacity to cope with shocks such as COVID-19 and
climate change.

“The United States will continue to bring critical food assistance to the most vulnerable
Zimbabweans,” said USAID Acting Mission Director Zeb Simpson. “At the same time, we are
working to equip households and communities with the skills and resources they need to
overcome the shocks and challenges they face.”

The situation is of particular concern in urban areas, where 42 percent of the population are
estimated to be food insecure, many impacted by the loss of informal jobs. Innovative
projects like hydroponics will be established in and around cities- which encourages food
production through environmentally sustainable techniques. This will empower
communities with the tools required to grow and sell food to generate income as many
urban livelihoods have been devastated by COVID-19. Complementary skills building will also
be provided to communities such as financial literacy, vocational and digital skills, marketing
and micro business management training.

The rural resilience activities will support community-based asset building, promote village
savings and lending groups, and provide training on improving crop storage conditions to
reduce harvest loss. In exchange for participation, food assistance will be provided to
supplement shortfalls during the upcoming lean season.

“We have seen that resilience building activities are key to helping people move beyond a
cycle of dependence and as such both programmes aim to improve livelihood opportunities
and provide a regular source of food and nutrition security to people experiencing
hardship,” said WFP Country Director and Representative Francesca Erdelmann.
“Importantly, the programmes are community-led and focus on the development and
maintenance of collective assets in addition to valuable life skills such as savings and
financial literacy that yield longer-term benefits.”

The contribution comes at a critical time for Zimbabwe, where approximately 5.3 million
people across the country are facing food insecurity- despite the bumper harvest this
season.

Despite the positive impact resilience building programmes have on communities, WFP
operations in Zimbabwe remain underfunded – with US$65 million required over the next six
months.