from DANAI MWARUMBWA in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
HARARE, (CAJ News) – THE European Union (EU) is providing an additional €1,5 million (US$1,547 million) to strengthen disaster preparedness structures and systems in Zimbabwe.
Funds will be made available to CARE International Zimbabwe for operations in Manicaland, Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland provinces.
The funding is made available through the EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and will be implemented in collaboration with the government and Caritas Zimbabwe.
Patrick Sikana, CARE Zimbabwe Country Director, noted in the recent past the Southern African region faced severe weather such as the El Nino induced drought, localised flash floods, storms and cyclones such as Idai and Eloise.
“These disasters affect the most vulnerable households in Zimbabwe, particularly women and girls, and many continue to experience loss of crops, livelihoods and shelter, and reduction of resilience to recover from such severe shocks and stresses,” he said.
One of the main objectives of the project is to help strengthen and standardise Zimbabwe’s Civil Protection structures to improve efficiency and effectiveness of disaster preparedness and response.
The project will also focus on the roll-out and deployment of inclusive community-led early warning and early action plans and tools in selected districts, especially locations prone to rapid-onset natural disasters.
“We need to galvanize communities throughout Southern Africa to be more aware and prepared for sudden onset natural disaster,” explained EU humanitarian expert, Sylvie Montembault.
– CAJ News