Charities face battle to fix up tyrant's legacy
Thursday April 03 2008
Aid agencies face a number of challenges in Zimbabwe if and when President Robert Mugabe cedes power.
The collapse of the once prosperous southern African country has seen life expectancy drop to 34 for women and 37 for men -- the lowest in the world.
Inflation is running at more than 100,000pc, bringing the economy to its knees.
NGOs were threatened with de-registration by Mr Mugabe, accused of being infiltrated by pro-opposition supporters.
But many agencies continued to operate in the country.
Charities agree that any emergency response needs to focus on food shortages and health, particularly HIV/Aids.
Judith Melby, Africa Specialist at Christian Aid, said: "The life expectancy figures tell the story. These are people who are both ill and very hungry.''
She said four million people were facing food shortages and about 1.8 million people were suffering from HIV/Aids.
Literacy
The country once had a literacy rate of 90pc and a reputation for excellent education.
But parents have been unable to afford school fees and many youngsters have dropped their studies to join youth militias or work on the black market.
Richard Miller, director of ActionAid, said the provision of seeds and fertiliser could get food production back up within a few years.
Mugabe's programme of farm redistribution had hit the economy by undermining exports of crops such as tobacco, he said.
Oxfam spokeswoman Caroline Hooper-Box, in South Africa, said: "Zimbabwe is facing a number of complex structural and economic problems that are going to take a long time to fix.
"The humanitarian crisis has its roots in the broad political and economic crisis that has gripped the country for a long time."
"Any intervention must be long term and sustainable."
- Joe Sinclair
