Zimbabwe crisis

Hundreds of thousands of people have left Zimbabwe to escape crushing poverty, many of them children. For those left behind, this crisis has left families living in abject poverty, unable to buy enough food to eat or to afford healthcare. 

Watch a short clip of Save the Children's work in Zimbabwe.

A ban on humanitarian activities imposed by the government earlier in the year meant we were unable to deliver vital food aid and healthcare support to families. In late August the ban was lifted against NGOs such as Save the Children, allowing us to return to work. Although it can be a difficult environment to work in we are continuing our programmes in child protection, health and education. 

Children in Zimbabwe

Conditions are very diffcult for many children in Zimbabwe. The crisis has crippled basic services and the healthcare system has reached the brink of collapse. Due to the lack of sanitation and health services there is in an increased risk of outbreaks of disease which will be difficult to control.

Mudiwa, a mother of three from one of Harare’s poorest suburbs explains, “I’m very sick and my baby is sick too. I’m coughing. I could get medical treatment when it was free from an organisation, but they said I have to go and see a doctor, and I couldn’t afford it. I have no medicine.”

Families and children are struggling to find enough food to eat. Some children have resorted to catching wild rats to fill their stomachs, whilst others are forging in the wild for plant roots. This type of food can be poisonous, making them sick, and in extreme cases leading to death.  Aside from this it lacks essential nutritional value. Chronic malnutrition now affects nearly a third of all children.

Fungai is 13 years old. His mother died, and his father has left home to find work. He explains, “I have to ask neighbours for food, but sometimes I don’t get it because people don’t have it. Often I have to do some work for them to get it. But it’s never fair. Sometimes they only give me a little bit of food and sometimes nothing. I can’t complain because I’m small - it’s not right.”

At the height of the crisis - when adults and children were fleeing across borders to find work and safety - many children became separated from their families or carers.  It is in these circumstances that children can become vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and exploitative labour.  

Across the country children are also dropping out of school as poor families are being forced to send their children out to find work, or simply cannot afford to send them to school.

Simbarashe Mazikisa, a local school teacher explains,  “The children have to pay 300 Zimbabwean dollars to go to school. Lots of children can’t afford it. I get little money from the fees. Sometimes I get no money. It's voluntary work to do this - to help the community.  We just have to go on.”

One in five adults in Zimbabwe is living with HIV/AIDs. As a result it has one of the highest rates of orphans per capita in the world. Many of these children will be left to run households on their own, finding it extremely difficult to find food or access the support they need.

Watch our video:

What we're doing

Save the Children has been working in Zimbabwe for 25 years. With our response now moving ahead again we aim to reach at least 80,000 children.

We plan to reach more than 142,000 people with essential food, and at least half of these will be children. We want to set up community based feeding centres for over 4,000 malnourished children. We're setting up programmes which will improve the health of pregnant and lactating mothers, new born babies and children under under the age of five.

Ensuring that families can earn a living and produce their own food is essential for long term sustainable recovery. We are targeting 22,000 households across three districts and helping families prepare to plant seeds for the harvest season next year. 

We’re working with local partners rehabilitating schools, enhancing children’s access to education. We’re also sensitising communities to child protection issues, and providing emotional support to orphaned and vulnerable children, and those that have become displaced.

What you can do

Please donate to our Zimbabwe appeal now. We want to raise £5 million to help children and their families in desperate need.