Moses Ziyambi
The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) has announced two new food security programs,
Takunda and Amalima Loko that are meant to help fight hunger in the country.
These five-year programs, which
were announced on October 21, will target nearly 490 000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland
North, Masvingo, and Manicaland provinces.
“These two new programs will
build on the United States’ investment in Zimbabwean people and tackle the root
causes of food insecurity and poverty by assisting almost a half a million
vulnerable Zimbabweans to transition from humanitarian assistance to resilience
and self-reliance,” said USAID director Art Brown.
Under Takunda US$55 million will
be spent to feed more than 301 000 vulnerable people through CARE International
in Chivi and Zaka in Masvingo as well as Buhera and Mutare in Manicaland.
The program is also meant to empower
women and youth to create sustainable livelihoods, improve agriculture
practices and technology, and strengthen the governance and management of community
assets and infrastructure.
Under Amalima Loko, US$75 million
will be spent to improve food security for more than 188 000 food insecure
citizens in the Matabeleland North districts of Tsholotsho, Lupane, Nkayi,
Hwange, and Binga. The job will be done through Cultivating New Frontiers in
Agriculture.
The program will increase access
to food, improve nutritional behaviors, and educate communities on sustainable
watershed management.
USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian
Assistance, the U.S. Government’s lead coordinator for international disaster
assistance, provides life-saving humanitarian assistance—such as food, water,
shelter, emergency healthcare, sanitation and hygiene, and critical nutrition
services—to the world’s most vulnerable people.
Since independence in 1980, the
United States, through USAID, has contributed over $3.2 billion in assistance
to Zimbabwe in such areas as food security, economic resilience, health systems
and services, and good governance.
