Zimbabwe Appeal
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it
provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition,
education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
Zimbabwe snapshot
Appeal highlights
The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe has continued to deteriorate due to multiple natural hazards, including drought and related food insecurity, flooding and the risk of epidemic/disease outbreaks. In addition, the continuing socio-economic downturn, characterized by hyperinflation (481 per cent in the first quarter of 2020), is limiting the provision of and access to basic services. Some 6.7 million people, including 3.2 million children, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Nationally, the severe acute malnutrition (SAM) rate rose from 0.2 per cent in 2018 to 1.4 per cent in 2019, with further increases expected in 2020. The protracted health worker strike has significantly affected health service provision. The risk of of cholera remains high given the water and sanitation situation and electricity shortages; and by the end of 2019, there were 6,187 suspected typhoid cases, with 165 confirmed cases and 12 deaths. C'hildren are increasingly exposed to violence, abuse, mental stress, school drop-out and exploitation, and support for their education, protection and access to protective environments must be scaled up. Gender-based violence remains a serious concern for crisis-affected children and women.
Key planned results for 2020
991,168 children and women receiving micronutrient supplementation
1,200,00 people accessing safe water
3,042,251 children, women and men accessing health services
Funding requirements for 2020
Country strategy
UNICEF and partners are working with the Government to respond to the complex situation in Zimbabwe. In response to the drought, cyclone and diarrhoeal disease risks, UNICEF is scaling up its support to government-led national and district coordination structures to provide multi-sectoral life-saving services to affected communities, including interventions to prevent cholera outbreaks and acute malnutrition.
The social protection programme is being expanded into the most drought-affected areas. This includes cash transfers in urban areas. Services are being continued for crisis-affected children, adolescents and pregnant and breastfeeding women receiving antiretroviral therapy through expanded outreach services.
Child protection services are being scaled up for children experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation, including children who are victims/survivors of gender-based violence. UNICEF is supporting partners to improve access to quality education for children and adolescents in formal and non-formal settings. All programmes have a communication for development (C4D) component to support awareness and accountability to affected populations. UNICEF is supporting sectoral coordination and leading the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, education and child protection sectors.
With partners, UNICEF is also strengthening coordination structures for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse to ensure that crisis-affected populations have access to appropriate interventions.
Programme targets
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing crises affecting children in Zimbabwe; the strategies that we are using to respond to these situations; and the donor support that is essential in this response.
