Zimbabwe’s nongovernmental organizations are attempting to launch a fresh appeal to international donors for help in meeting the country’s humanitarian needs.
National Association of Nongovernmental Organizations spokesman Fambai Ngirande said local aid groups will meet this week with United Nations Office for Humanitarian Assistance representatives in Harare to make the case for a new U.N. appeal.
Ngirande said the move was precipitated by the government’s reluctance to issue an appeal despite looming food shortages, especially in southern Zimbabwe where food stocks of under a month are common despite a relatively recent maize harvest.
Many people made homeless by last year’s Operation Murambatsvina slum-clearance drive, which left an estimated 700,000 homeless, are in dire need too, he said.
Reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe asked Ngirande for details on the continuing humanitarian crisis and the nongovernmental initiative.
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