UNICEF seeks $17.5 million for emergency response in Zimbabwe
Donate now to support UNICEF's emergency programs for the children of Zimbabwe.
HARARE (December 15, 2008) — UNICEF has appealed for $17.5 million in immediate funding to boost its 120-day emergency response as Zimbabwe battles with a raging cholera outbreak and the effects of collapsing social services.
The funds raised under this appeal will enable UNICEF to scale up its cholera response, provide incentives for teachers to return to work, procure essential medicines for hospitals and importantly, expand its role in the provision of vital supplies and logistics functions necessary to get the social services back on track.
“The situation in Zimbabwe is dire and our response has to match the severity,” said UNICEF Acting Representative Roeland Monasch. “Assistance needs to be taken to scale and it has to happen urgently. For this to happen we need resources. The deepening crisis in Zimbabwe comes amidst growing food insecurity, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and poses the worst threat to child survival and development in 20 years.”
The service delivery crisis, spurred on by a human resources disaster in the education and health sectors has worsened conditions for women and children in the last two months across Zimbabwe. Consequently, school attendance has dropped to a mere 20 percent, major hospitals have closed and poor management of cholera cases has seen a high fatality rate of 4.8 percent, way above the 1 percent international threshold.
The UNICEF appeal outlines key emergency interventions in water, sanitation, health and education areas including:
- Procurement of water treatment chemicals for all urban areas for the next four months
- Provision of medicines and equipment to Cholera Treatment Centers
- Provision of essential medicines (including vaccines) for 1,780 health facilities in 62 districts
- Expansion of community management of acute malnutrition
Already UNICEF has been responding to the emergency by providing IV fluids, drips, tents and beds for Cholera Treatment Centers. UNICEF is also trucking 125,000 gallons of water per day, drilling boreholes and distributing water purification to over 3.5 million people in Zimbabwe.
UNICEF has brought in a team of 12 emergency specialists to work in the sectors of water, sanitation, health, education, child protection and nutrition. UNICEF has also brought in logisticians and borehole drilling experts to intensify relief efforts.
About UNICEF
For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading international children’s organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicefusa.org.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Alleyne, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Media, 212.880.9177
