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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter 

ABOUT 326  000 members of the public are set to benefit from food vouchers to help alleviate economic challenges due to Covid-19 which has left many households food insecure.

The global pandemic which has killed 3 919 Zimbabweans so far and efforts to curb its spread have impacted on many livelihoods especially in urban and peri- urban areas.

In a statement the World Food Programme said the European Union has contributed EURO 3 million towards the program targeted to reach at least one million people by end of 2021.

The 2020 Urban Livelihoods Assessment estimates that 2,4 million urban dwellers are estimated to be cereal insecure. In March 2021 assessment showed that food insecurity of vulnerable households  increased by 12 percent since 2019.

This is due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures that have resulted in the widespread loss of urban livelihoods.

“The European Union has contributed EUR 3 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Zimbabwe. Funding will be used to support highly vulnerable people living in urban communities who are struggling to meet basic food needs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The contribution, made through the EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Department (ECHO), will come in the form of cash assistance used to support beneficiaries of WFP’s Urban Social Assistance and Resilience Building Programme,” said WPF.

“Recipients will receive USD 12 per person, per month via either e-voucher or Western Union cash transfer – to help cover basic food needs such as maize meal, cooking oil and salt. Urban populations face high living costs to obtain basic food needs, along with other critical items such as rent, water and electricity.”

WPF also said the 30 increase  in the average price (in ZWL) of basic food items like maize meal has also left many struggling to put food on the table.

@thamamoe