rch 2019, the east of the country was struck by Cyclone Idai, displacing thousands of people and washing away their homes, crops and livelihoods. Since October 2019, Zimbabwe has experienced late and erratic rainfall, foreboding another poor harvest in 2020 and leaving the most vulnerable people in rural areas in need of assistance. In urban areas, many people are struggling to cope and having to forego essential items to put food on the table. Those hardest hit have been forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms, with particularly dangerous consequences for women and girls who are simply striving to survive. Despite the ongoing efforts of Government and humanitarian
partners, there is a need to scale up support to people in need in the most vulnerable communities. These issues highlight the importance of honouring humanitarian workers and the need to support them in their work.
Therefore, WCoZ calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to:
1. Provide monthly cash assistance to meet the most immediate food security needs of vulnerable people in affected areas.
2. Upgrade the current shelter infrastructure to ensure that families are able to cope with the impact of bad weather, including the rainy season. Most temporary structures in the camps are worn out as they were only meant to last for three to six months, whilst the internally displaced people (IDPs) are exposed to recurrent bad weather conditions (floods, strong winds, mudslides).
3. Operationalize a permanent relocation strategy, with a view to solutions that are durable and non- camp-based for those displaced, as well as ensuring temporary displacement sites are safely closed and decommissioned after use.
4. Promote meaningful participation among stakeholders, including members of communities, in the assessment and response to emergent humanitarian challenges.
5. Support sexual and reproductive health care needs for the most vulnerable women and girls. Reproductive and maternal health services must be bolstered through (i) procurement and distribution of emergency and referral reproductive health kits, (ii) strengthening the referral system for obstetric emergencies, including equipping ambulances, (iii) capacity building of health workers for reproductive health in humanitarian situations, (iv) strengthening STI prevention and management, including for women and girls living with HIV, (v) ensuring availability of survivor- centered services for survivors of GBV and (vi) supporting maternity waiting homes, including food
and nutrition support for admitted women
6. Ensure availability and accessibility of quality comprehensive GBV survivors’ multisectoral services such as health, psychosocial, safety and legal support, through the establishment/ strengthening of referral pathways and the dissemination of life-saving information on available services in drought- affected communities//END