Coping with instability

Hyper-inflation, the impact of HIV and AIDS, and the decline in recent years of commercial farm production, have all led to a widespread lack of food and other essential items across Zimbabwe.

• The official inflation rate, at over 100,000 per cent, is the highest in the world
• 1.8 million people are living with HIV and AIDS

The livelihoods of Zimbabwe’s population are under threat. Unemployment rates of 85 per cent and reduced earning opportunities are forcing many people to resort to selling their assets to survive.

Find out more about Oxfam's response to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe

How Oxfam is helping

We help people build and maintain ways of making a living that can withstand the current instability. We provide training to farmers to help them maximise their yields and work with families affected by HIV and AIDS to provide support and treatment.

Oxfam's other work in Zimbabwe

• Providing health education to encourage good hygiene practices
• Running seed fairs to promote local trade and support the local economy
• Providing a ‘safety net’ for the most vulnerable families by distributing food vouchers during the traditional lean seasons

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Read more examples of our work in Zimbabwe:

• Emergencies

Oxfam's work in Zimbabwe in depth

DFID (Department for International Development) and OFDA (The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance) are funding partners of Oxfam in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe cholera epidemic

Ordinary Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. Cholera, a water-borne disease, has surged due to the breakdown of city sewerage systems, poor maintenance of water supply systems including hand pumps, severe drinking water shortages, and the lack of basic hygiene items such as soap.

Find out more about Oxfam's cholera response

Humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe

Hyper-inflation, the impact of HIV and AIDS, and the decline in recent years of commercial farm production, have all led to a widespread lack of food and other essential items across Zimbabwe.

Find out about Oxfam's response to the humanitarian crisis

Southern Africa Food Crisis

Both in 2001-3 and in 2005-6, millions of people across southern Africa faced acute food shortages.

In both instances we expanded our work in the region – covering Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe – to reach more people affected by the crisis.

A recurrent problem

Food crises in southern Africa are not unpredictable – drought comes in cycles. However, even in a year of good rains millions of poor farmers simply cannot produce a decent harvest because they can't afford seeds and fertilisers.

Without long-term investment in people's livelihoods, millions of people will continue to be vulnerable to drought. Oxfam works to help improve the food security of communities across the region to bring an end to this cyclical crisis.

Learn more

Oxfam's work in Zimbabwe in depth