Africare-Zimbabwe

Africare’s History in Zimbabwe

Africare has been operational in Zimbabwe since 1981 following the country’s attainment of independence in 1980. Since then, Africare has been providing emergency relief aid as well as long term assistance in the areas of agriculture, water and sanitation, environmental management and health in all the 10 provinces of the country.

 

Africare-Zimbabwe Today

 

Africare-Zimbabwe has grown to become one of the biggest international NGOs in Zimbabwe having provided development assistance in  health and  HIV/AIDS, food security and agriculture, water and sanitation, humanitarian and emergency assistance as well as micro-enterprise development to all the ten provinces. Africare-Zimbabwe is currently providing assistance to vulnerable communities (489,939 beneficiaries) in rural and Urban Zimbabwe through ten donor-supported projects.  To achieve its mandate, Africare works with communities directly and through the central government, local authorities, local NGOs and community-based organizations.

 

 

Country Profile Zimbabwe

 

REGION: Southern Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Harare
POPULATION: 11,651,858
LAND AREA: 386,847 sq km  (149,363 sq miles)

What is now Zimbabwe was among the last African nations to gain legal independence and majority rule. In 1965, white minority citizens of "Southern Rhodesia" (as Zimbabwe was named at the time) unilaterally seceded from Britain. U.N. sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and genuine independence, including the name change to Zimbabwe, in 1980. Since that time, as have most countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe has suffered from the apartheid South Africa-backed regional destabilization war ― which ended in 1992 ― and some of the highest rates of HIV infection and AIDS-related death in the world. Civil wars in neighboring countries also have affected Zimbabwe, causing, for example, large influxes of refugees. Most Zimbabweans are farmers. Only 9 percent of the land is arable. Factors ranging from severe droughts to the government's land redistribution policies have, in recent years, badly hurt the agricultural economy. High inflation as well as critical food and fuel shortages have resulted. Increasing numbers of Zimbabweans have been leaving the country for Botswana and South Africa, in search of better economic opportunities.

Country Stats Life expectancy: 40.9 years (USA: 77.9) Under-5 child mortality: 132/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000) HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [14.6 - 16.1]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%) Physicians per 100,000 people: 16 (USA: 256) People undernourished: 47% (USA: 0%) People with access to safe drinking water: 81% (USA: 100%) Adult literacy: 89.4% (USA: 99%) Gross National Income per Capita : $2,038 (USA: $41,890) People living on less than $1 a day: 56.1% (USA: 0%) (HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, June 2010)