Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe Appeal for Food Aid amid Prolonged Drought

Harare, 04 April, 2024 / 6:53 PM

Catholic Bishops in the drought-stricken Zimbabwe are calling for concerted efforts to provide food to people who are starving.

The Southern African nation is experiencing an El Nino-induced drought, the country's President Emerson Mnangagwa said Wednesday April 3, and declared the droughts a national disaster.

President Mnangagwa added that the country needs $2 billion in aid to help millions of Zimbabweans who are at the risk of starvation.

In a Thursday April 4 statement, members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) called upon humanitarian institutions and agencies to “put our resources together and avert the many deaths that may be caused by the drought.”

They said, “We all have a duty and an obligation to care for those in need, more so those who are left exposed by the effects of the drought.”

The Bishops emphasized the need for concerted efforts in tackling the hunger crisis in Zimbabwe, saying, “Together we are stronger and can feed the multitudes. When the little that we have is generously put at the hands of the Lord, he multiplies it, and all will have their fill.”

In their statement, the Catholic Bishops cautioned against politicizing the drought and called for food aid saying, “Hunger knows no political divisions”.

The Church leaders also cautioned against making profit from the situation.

“We would like to appeal to those who may want to take advantage of the situation to make a profit, that this is not the time,” they said, adding that making profit from the situation “betrays ubuntu bethu (our humanity)”.

Those who are in need should be assisted “in a way that does not take away their dignity or dehumanize them” the Bishops in Zimbabwe said.