HIGHLIGHTS:
- During the month of October, WFP’s Lean Season Assistance (LSA) programme scaled up to target 1,064,538 people in 22 rural districts, of which 987,380 have been reached.
- During the month of October, WFP hosted two Seed Fairs at Ward level in Masvingo as part of its effort to improve access to inputs for smallholder farmers.
- More than 40,300 people in Beitbridge and Rushinga received in-kind food assistance, thanks to the recent ARC Replica pay-out of USD 290,288.
- Data for Zimbabwe is now live on WFP’s Global Hunger Map! Keep checking this interactive tool for real-time food security analysis.
Spotlight: ARC Replica payout provides food relief to 40,351 Zimbabweans affected by drought
The African Union’s African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a ground-breaking risk management and resilience building platform that provides financial tools and infrastructure to help African Union Member States manage natural disaster risks and adapt to climate change. ARC’s aim is to improve the way predictable natural hazards are responded to on the continent by reducing the time it takes for assistance to reach those affected through predictable, early and local response. ARC Member States pay premiums through national budget processes and receive pay-outs for pre-approved contingency plans.
ARC Replica is an insurance product offered by ARC Ltd to WFP and other humanitarian partners as an innovative approach to expand climate risk insurance coverage to more people and improve the effectiveness of emergency humanitarian response in vulnerable African countries prone to climate risks, such as drought. Under ARC’s Replica Coverage, WFP can match the insurance coverage of ARC Member States by purchasing a ‘Replica Policy’. ARC member countries can then access additional protection through the matching policies acquired by WFP or other humanitarian agencies. WFP has purchased Replica Policies for seven climate risk averse countries, including Zimbabwe.
Over the past three decades, Zimbabwe has suffered 15 incidents of drought; six of which were severe to extreme, having affected between 2.5 and 7 million people. The worst and most recent of these incidents saw the government spending USD 220 million more than its usual Social Safety Net schemes to provide emergency food relief to vulnerable Zimbabweans.
Having experienced compounded vulnerability in the face of two consecutive droughts, the failed 2019/20 drought triggered an ARC Replica payout of USD 290,288 in Zimbabwe. This allowed WFP to support approximately 40,351 vulnerable people in wards most affected by drought with in -kind food assistance during the month of October 2020.
Among those assisted is Loveness, a 64-year-old grandmother from Rushinga, one of the worst drought-hit regions in the country. “I’ve lived on this land for as long as I can remember, and 2019 was the worst drought I’ve experienced. I wasn’t able to harvest anything – all of the crops were written off. This food from WFP has greatly assisted me in making sure that my family is taken care of – at least they have something to eat. This has really meant a lot to my family.”
The ARC Replica has provided an opportunity for WFP and the Government of Zimbabwe to strengthen national technical capacities for emergency preparedness and response, targeting, and risk finance. This ARC Replica concept works as an innovative instrument that helps finance early response and lifesaving actions in the aftermath of extreme natural disasters. When combined with other instruments such as micro-insurance for smallholders and Forecast-based Anticipatory Action plans, the ARC Replica has the potential to greatly accelerate progress towards Zero Hunger in Zimbabwe
COMMENTS