Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Online Reporter
ZIMBABWE is in need of a national policy on disaster risk management in the face of rising climate change related disasters which have left many in humanitarian need.
This came out during commemorations of the World Humanitarian Day, themed #TheHumanRace marking the global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it most.
Celebrated on 19 August each year, the World Humanitarian Day is an international day dedicated to
humanitarian workers and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes.
In a statement, ActionAid said Zimbabwe has been grappling with the impact of climate change and its related humanitarian consequences, hence the need for a national policy.
“Statistics show that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has been steadily ballooning in the past five years, from 2.8 million people in 2016 (Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report 2016) to 7.9 million in 2021 (Zimbabwe Humanitarian Response Plan 2021). Of these people in need of humanitarian assistance about 75% of them are women, girls and children because these sections of the population always bear the brunt of most disasters,” read the statement.
“Women and girls face numerous challenges during humanitarian situations such as increased sexual and gender-based violence cases, psychosocial trauma, early and forced marriages, trafficking, forced migration, increased poverty, changes in self-perception, among other effects. Yet women are conspicuously invisible in most countries’ disaster risk reduction legislations, policies, structures, and systems hence the need for a national policy document to address these issues in Zimbabwe.” – @thamamoe
Online Reporter