Zimbabwe

Why we work in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa.

After gaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s food production has declined sharply as a result of the reallocation of land. Food scarcity has been made worse by severe droughts, meaning that since 2000, Zimbabwe has struggled to feed its people. One in four people in Zimbabwe now relies on international aid for food.

ActionAid began working with local communities in Zimbabwe in 1997. We provide long-term supplies of safe water, like boreholes, help farmers improve crop yields, and support women with loans to help them build businesses.

We also train the poorest people in their rights to basic services such as healthcare, clean water and education. And our local staff provide emergency food and water programmes for people most affected by drought.

El Niño

El Niño, a cyclical weather phenomenon, has increased the severity of droughts. Many families are living on one or less meals a day. Children are often too weak to go to school and struggle to concentrate because they are too hungry. With rivers drying up and wells overburdened, girls and women have to queue for hours to get limited water.

Women make up 70% of the agricultural workforce but rely on men to provide land according to customary law, which says that women should not own land. This makes it even harder for women to support themselves and feed their families.

What we do in Zimbabwe

Battling the effects of drought

In 2016, the devastating effects of the El Niño-induced drought left close to four million people in need of food aid in Zimbabwe. Many children stopped going to school because they were too hungry and weak to walk to school.

In response to people's needs, ActionAid runs feeding programmes in schools across Matabeleland North Province, giving the most vulnerable children a daily meal of corn and soya porridge.

We also help farmers to improve crop yields with better farming techniques. And families are given the chance to take out loans from ActionAid-supported credit groups, helping them to build a business and provide for their future.

Tackling unemployment with women farmers

With estimated unemployment rates of up to 95%, many people in Zimbabwe find it difficult to cover their families' basic needs, such as food and clothing. That’s why local ActionAid staff in the Nyanga region helped to set up the Rural Women’s Assembly, a collective of women who share advice and work together to improve their lives.

Tackling violence with our Safe Cities campaign

Nearly half of all women in Zimbabwe experience violence in their lifetime. ActionAid’s Safe Cities campaign educates communities on women’s rights, giving them the skills to make their communities a safer place for women and girls.

In Harare and Chitungwiza our local staff are training women to lobby the government for basic protection, such as street lighting, as well as training police to take violence against women seriously. The project will benefit over 30,000 women and girls affected by violence.

Supporting communities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic

People in Zimbabwe are still facing the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Our emergency response has supported more than 44,000 people across the country. Thanks to ActionAid donors we have distributed at least 35,000 food packages for people in need, including cooking oil, salt and beans, along with thousands of PPE items for health workers and hygiene kits for women, including menstrual products and soap. 

Amidst a worrying rise in cases of violence against women and girls, we’ve been working to protect women’s rights through robust prevention and awareness-raising tactics, including radio and SMS campaigns.