Zim’s crisis is deepening

HARARE – UN humanitarian envoy Jan Egeland left Zimbabwe yesterday after a four-day tour and said its humanitarian crisis was deepening, with millions in need of aid.”The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is very serious.

The need for international aid is big and growing,” Egeland, the UN humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told journalists late on Tuesday after talks with President Robert Mugabe and government officials. “Millions of people are struggling with their back against the wall to fend off hunger, to fend off AIDS and a lot of other things,” he said after visiting people living in shacks since they were evicted during government demolitions of shantytowns.On Tuesday Mugabe rejected a UN offer to provide temporary shelter for victims of the slum clearance programme but did accept an offer of food aid.The UN says Zimbabwe needs emergency aid including tents to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of homeless but the government says it only needs help to provide permanent homes.Egeland said there was progress on aid, especially for people suffering with HIV-AIDS.Egeland said the government crackdown could have been avoided and urged authorities to halt further evictions after reports in the past month that families already living in the open were being forced to move again by authorities.- Nampa-Reuters”Millions of people are struggling with their back against the wall to fend off hunger, to fend off AIDS and a lot of other things,” he said after visiting people living in shacks since they were evicted during government demolitions of shantytowns.On Tuesday Mugabe rejected a UN offer to provide temporary shelter for victims of the slum clearance programme but did accept an offer of food aid.The UN says Zimbabwe needs emergency aid including tents to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of homeless but the government says it only needs help to provide permanent homes.Egeland said there was progress on aid, especially for people suffering with HIV-AIDS.Egeland said the government crackdown could have been avoided and urged authorities to halt further evictions after reports in the past month that families already living in the open were being forced to move again by authorities.- Nampa-Reuters