UN raises 76 mln USD for Zimbabwe's food aid

The United Nations (UN) has so far mobilized 76 million U.S. dollars for Zimbabwe's food aid, a month after the government declared this year's drought a state of disaster.

The UN office in Zimbabwe said Friday it had reached more than 1 million people affected by hunger and pledged to scale-up relief activities to reach those who are food insecure.

Zimbabwe this year experienced one of its worst El Nino induced drought in a decade, which has left 3 million people, nearly 30 percent of the rural population, in need of food aid.

The Zimbabwean government declared this year's drought a state of disaster on Feb. 3 and has appealed for 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to buy grain to feed the 3 million affected people as well as support livestock, wildlife and rehabilitate irrigation systems.

Following the declaration of a state of disaster, the UN said it had, together with its humanitarian partners, expanded humanitarian response plan to address needs in such areas as agriculture, food, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and education.

The UN said last month it planned to raise 130 million dollars towards food aid in the southern African country that has faced perennial food shortages due to successive drought in recent years. Enditem