Harare, 22 November, 2019 / 12:36 am (ACI Africa).
As the landlocked Southern Africa country of Zimbabwe struggles on the political front with a recent Reuter’s report indicating the curtailing of “the democratic space” manifested in “the arrests and abductions of several political activists,” the England and Wales’ Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) operating in the country has painted a gloomy picture of the humanitarian situation of the country despite its own interventions to save lives.
“Years of economic turmoil and climate change, as well as the recent Cyclone Idai, are pushing families to the brink of starvation,” CAFOD country representative in Zimbabwe, Verity Johnson, has been quoted as saying.
“Last year’s harvests failed, largely due to extreme weather, from droughts that lasted for months on end, to flooding which wiped out whole villages,” Johnson has added.
Making ends meet for an ordinary Zimbabwean is a challenge, Johnson has said and explained, “The cost of food has risen exponentially, and there are severe bread shortages across the country. Where it can be found, a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe now costs up to fifteen times more than it did a year ago.”
She has added, “In the struggle to feed their children, parents are going without themselves.”
