Harare, 24 January 2020: The Government of Denmark has granted a contribution of DKK 20 Million (nearly USD 3 Million) towards the humanitarian appeal.

Denmark made the contribution through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF), which is working with small-scale farmers in 18 districts to implement resilience building activities.

The grant will go a long way to mitigate the negative impact of the drought for the next six months by protecting household and community asset base, providing cash-payments and strengthening on-going Disaster Risk Management efforts

"Whilst there has been progress in developing countries, hunger still remains a challenge and climate change is a large contributing factor. It is important that we take action with long term solutions to avert the continued food insecurity such as that currently unfolding in Southern Africa” says the Danish Minister of Development, Mr. Rasmus Prehn.

UNDP Resident Representative, Georges van Montfort, said “The current drought risks eroding the hard work farmers have put into building resilience. It is important to protect these development gains and to prevent communities from sliding back into food insecurity.”

Zimbabwe is experiencing a drought after receiving less than average rainfall in the 2018-2019 farming season, leaving an estimated 5.5 million rural and 2.2 million urban people vulnerable and food insecure. Continued drought is predicted in the 2019-2020 season because of the delayed onset of rains.

The Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund aims to contribute to the ability of communities to withstand the impact of shocks and stresses such as droughts. It is a multi-donor trust fund – contributed to by DfID, the European Union, Sweden and UNDP – and we welcome Denmark’s contribution. The Fund is implemented by consortia of international and local organisations in 18 districts, namely: Beitbridge, Binga, Bubi, Chiredzi, Insiza Kariba and Lupane. The others are Matobo, Mberengwa Mbire, Mudzi, Mutoko, Mwenezi, and Nkayi. It is also implemented in Nyanga, Umguza, Umzingwane and Zvishavane.

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