Rome, Italy, Jan 10, 2009 / 18:01 pm
Following a Cholera outbreak and food shortages in Zimbabwe, Caritas Internationalis has launched a $7 million appeal to provide humanitarian assistance to the more than 250,000 people threatened by hunger and death.
Over the last five months, Cholera has killed over 1,700 people out of a reported 36,000 cases. Some five million people, half of Zimbabwe’s population, now rely on food aid to survive.
A Caritas survey of Zimbabwe in October and November 2008 showed that between 70 percent and 90 percent of families are barely managing to feed themselves. According to Caritas, the worst affected areas are Masvingo, Bulawayo and Hwange, followed by Gokwe, Mutare and Gweru, then Harare (the capital) and Chinhoyi.
In order to survive, members of many families are picking wild foods, selling their animals or household items, or engaging in prostitution.