Zimbabwe’s forgotten children
Zimbabwe’s forgotten
children
As the world focuses on the upcoming Zimbabwean
elections, the UNICEF has released startling new statistics that call for
politicians and donors to defend children as rigorously as they defend
democracy.Despite the world?s fourth-worst rate of HIV/AIDS and the highest rise
in child mortality of any nation, Zimbabweans receive just a fraction of the
donor funding compared to other countries in their region.?The world must
differentiate between the politics and the people of Zimbabwe,? said UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy speaking in Johannesburg. ?Every day children
in Zimbabwe are dying of HIV/AIDS, every day children are becoming infected,
orphaned, and forced to leave school to care for sick parents. The global
generosity towards tsunami victims was inspiring, but it has dried up for
Zimbabwean children who are facing a deadly crisis every day of their
lives.?Bellamy said that in the financial year 2004/5 Zimbabwe received little
or no HIV/AIDS funding support from the main donor initiatives.In southern
Africa, the area most devastated by HIV/AIDS, the average annual donor spending
per HIV-infected person among these three initiatives was US $74. In Zimbabwe
the figure is just $4.In Zambia, a country with slightly lower HIV rates than
Zimbabwe, donors give US $187 per HIV-positive person, in Namibia $101, in
Uganda $319, and in Eritrea $802.Overall, donor support for Zimbabwe is also far
lower than any other country in the region. The World Bank estimates that
Zimbabweans receive US $14 per capita, from both official development assistance
(ODA) and official aid from the World Bank, the IMF, other international
organizations and from individual nation donors. This is less than one-quarter
of what Namibians ($68) receive, and around 12 percent of those in neighbouring
Mozambique ($111).Despite the dearth of funds, Zimbabwe is making inroads in the
fight against HIV/AIDS and rising child mortality. UNICEF, in concert with the
rest of the UN family, is providing community support to counselling and
psychosocial support for 100,000 orphaned children, and has provided assistance
by achieving a national measles coverage of 95 per cent.This progress has
occurred thanks to critical and direct support from the UK?s Department for
International Development, the European Commission and the Norwegian, Dutch,
Japanese and German governments.Despite the current political climate, Zimbabwe
is one of but a few countries with a National Plan of Action for Orphans and
Vulnerable Children (OVCs) adopted by government. UNICEF is responsible for
overall UN co-ordination of the OVC response and is supporting implementation
across Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is the only country in Africa which has instituted a
3% tax levy to mobilize domestic resources for fighting HIV/AIDS, child health
and nutrition, quality basic education for all boys and girls, access to clean
water and sanitation, and the protection of children from violence,
exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions
of governments, businesses, foundations and individuals.