Zimbabwe faces artificial hunger

Zimbabwe is facing "man-made" hunger with 60% of people failing to meet basic food needs, said a UN special envoy on Thursday after visiting the country of South Africa.

Hilal Elver, special rapporteur for the right to food, ranked Zimbabwe among the top four countries facing severe food shortages outside the nations in conflict zones.

"The people of Zimbabwe are slowly coming to suffer from a man-made hunger," he said at a press conference in Harare, adding that eight million people would be affected by the end of the year.

"Today, Zimbabwe is one of the four highest food insecure states," he said after an 11-day tour, adding that poor harvests were aggravated by 490% hyperinflation.

"Incredibly 5,5 million people are currently facing food insecurity" in rural areas due to a drought that has hit crops, he said.

Another 2,2 million people in urban areas also faced food shortages and had no access to minimal public services, including health and drinking water.

"By the end of this year ... the food security situation is expected to worsen with around eight million people requiring urgent action to reduce food consumption gaps and save livelihoods," he said, describing the numbers as "shocking." ".

Zimbabwe is grappling with a deep-seated economic crisis, pervasive corruption, poverty and a ruined health system.

The economy, paralyzed by decades of mismanagement under former President Robert Mugabe, failed to rebound under Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over following a coup d'état led two years ago.

"Political polarization, economic and financial problems and irregular weather conditions all contribute to the storm of food insecurity currently facing a country once seen as Africa's breadbasket," said Elver.

He warned that food insecurity has heightened "the risks of civil unrest and insecurity".

"I urgently ask the government and the international community to come together to end this spiral crisis before it turns into real social turmoil," he said.

He said he "personally witnessed some of the devastating consequences of the severe economic crisis on the streets of Harare, with people waiting for long hours in front of gas stations, banks and water distributors." Elver said he also received complaints about the partisan distribution of food aid to well-known Zanu-PF members in power against opposition supporters.

"I ask the Zimbabwean government to live up to its zero hunger commitment without any discrimination," said Elver.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa said the government would reverse plans to eliminate subsidies on corn, a staple food in a southern African belt.

"The mealie meal issue affects many people and we cannot remove the subsidy," he said, referring to cornmeal which is widely consumed in Zimbabwe.

"So I'm restoring it so that the price of the mealie meal is also reduced," said the president.

"We have a low-cost food policy that we are creating to ensure that staple foods are affordable," he said.