Urgency needed to avert a humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe
An urgent call on Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF government and the international donor community to mobilise food aid to avert an impending crisis has been met with assurances by government that "no one will starve".
Harare - "There is a general consensus that Zimbabwe's 2006/07 cereal production has to be complemented by imports of over one million metric tons if the country is to meet cereal requirements for the 2007/08 consumption year," said the latest overview of sub-Saharan food security by Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS NET) for June.
"The government and donor community need to mobilise for an immediate and coordinated response to address the growing levels of [food] insecurity in the country," said the US-based FEWS NET, which provides food security information on 17 countries in the region.