Aid agencies seek 360 mln USD for lifesaving assistance in Zimbabwe

Some 45 humanitarian partners in Zimbabwe have sought 360 million U.S. dollars in funding to provide lifesaving food, health, water and sanitation support and other assistance for 1.8 million people, a UN spokesman said here Friday.

The El Nino-induced drought has exacerbated hunger and hardship for vulnerable people in Zimbabwe, leaving 2.8 million people -- about 21 percent of the population -- food insecure, Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing.

The combination of a poor 2014-2015 harvest, an extremely dry early season and forecasts for continuing hot and drier-than-average conditions through mid-2016 posed a risk of extensive crop failure, weakened power supplies and reduced drinking water for human and livestock consumption, he said.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in March that it would, for the first time ever, extend its food relief program in Zimbabwe into next year in response to the dire food security situation due to a devastating El-Nino induced drought.

The WFP said Zimbabwe's high level of food insecurity is due to last year's bad harvest -- 50 percent down from that of the previous year -- combined with an unusually strong El Nino weather event which has resulted in reduced rains for southern Africa.

Coinciding as it has with the main part of the growing season, El Nino-related drought has been disastrous for smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture.

The drought has also killed thousands of livestock in the country.

In February, the Zimbabwean government last month declared the drought a state of disaster and has appealed for 1.6 billion dollars to buy grain to feed the affected people. Endit