Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THROUGH support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Zimbabwe is expanding climate resilience, food security and sustainable livelihoods for 450 000 people across seven districts, including communities in the southern region.
The support is being provided through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund Phase 2 (ZRBF 2), which was launched in March last year and is also supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
In a statement on Friday, UNDP Zimbabwe said ZRBF 2 will run from 2025 to 2028, building on the successes of Phase 1, which reached more than 1,1 million Zimbabweans, with 62 percent being women and 25 percent youths.
The first phase of the programme ran from 2015 to 2023.
The programme focuses on climate action, sustainable natural resource management, food and nutrition security, and locally led development in the Mid-Zambezi, south-western and southern regions.
“Zimbabwe continues to face intensifying climate-related shocks, including recurrent droughts, floods and erratic rainfall, which directly affect rural livelihoods and national development,” reads part of the statement.
“Yet across Zimbabwe, communities are also demonstrating that resilience is not only about surviving a crisis. It is about preparing earlier, adapting faster, protecting local ecosystems and creating new economic opportunities even in difficult conditions.”
UNDP Zimbabwe said when ZRBF was first launched in 2015, it marked a shift from short-term recovery to long-term resilience building, with Phase 1 supporting climate-smart agriculture, savings groups, market linkages, early warning systems and local innovation.
In districts such as Mbire, Kariba and Hurungwe in the Mid-Zambezi region, the programme was used to bridge investments between 2023 and 2025.
“Climate-smart agriculture, savings groups, market linkages, early warning systems and local innovation helped communities withstand shocks, recover faster and build more sustainable livelihoods,” said UNDP Zimbabwe.
“Bridging investments between 2023 and 2025 helped sustain gains through expanded water systems, agro-processing centres, mushroom production, livelihood support and community-level climate adaptation.
“ZRBF Phase 2 is now scaling up resilience action for 450 000 people across seven districts, with a focus on climate action, sustainable natural resource management, food and nutrition security, and locally led development.”
UNDP Zimbabwe Resident Representative Dr Ayodele Odusola said Phase 2 sharpens the focus on sustainable natural resource management and stronger local systems.
“ZRBF 2 builds on past successes to ensure that communities, including those in hard-to-reach areas, are empowered to manage their natural resources, improve food security and adapt to climate and economic challenges,” he said.
Outgoing European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Jobst von Kirchmann, said resilience building must be a joint and long-term effort.
“By working together and building on past successes, we can create lasting, positive change,” he said.
Ambassador of Ireland to Zimbabwe Mr Austin Gormley said men and women in communities most exposed to climate hazards will equally benefit under the programme’s second phase.
