United Kingdom (UK) yesterday revealed new funding that will benefit over 100 thousand people and two quarantine facilities in Zimbabwe.
The funding is meant for people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that negatively affected trade and jobs around the world.
Development Director at the British Embassy in Harare, Cate Turton said, “This new funding for UK-supported humanitarian assistance for migration-affected communities in Zimbabwe will benefit 115,660 people and 2 quarantine facilities.”
“This comes at a crucial time when Zimbabwe is feeling the effects of a declining economic and humanitarian situation which has been compounded by Covid-19.”
Zimbabwe and other African countries will also benefit from another new fund set up by the FinMark Trust for income relief to more than 8,000 families.
UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge MP said, “For many communities across Southern Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health emergency – it is also damaging livelihoods and exacerbating food shortages. The support the UK is providing will help families in crisis across Southern Africa – many of whom are female-led households – improving access to COVID-19 information and basic services, and protecting livelihoods.”
“UK action to support the flow of remittances will help those most vulnerable to the economic fallout of COVID-19 across Southern Africa to access the necessary money to meet their immediate needs.”
FinMark of CEO, Brendan Pearce said, “Families across Southern Africa rely heavily on remittances from their loved ones. Amongst these families, the economic fallout of COVID-19 has hit the vulnerable particularly hard, especially women and children. The Southern Africa COVID-19 Remittance Relief Fund has been established to bring much-needed support to these communities. We are working in partnership with financial service providers across the region to make sure that this money reaches those most in need as quickly as possible.”
All in all, UK announced £7 million to provide essential services and food assistance to almost 750,000 people, including 14,000 households and nearly half a million migrants who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across Southern Africa.
The Southern African region has been hard-hit by a prolonged drought and the COVID-19 pandemic has further deepened the food insecurity situation with 18 million people at risk of hunger for the remainder of this year.
