Bulawayo Residents Plead for Ongoing Food Aid as WFP Program Concludes

As the World Food Programme’s (WFP) urban food insecurity aid program comes to an end this month, residents of Bulawayo’s vulnerable communities are appealing to the government and other NGOs to step in and provide continued assistance.

The WFP program, which has been supporting at least 15,000 food-insecure people in 2,007 households across Bulawayo’s suburbs since September 2022, is set to conclude this July. The program provided monthly cash transfers to help families access food and other basic necessities.

“We have been struggling to feed our family. We are a family of 10 and we survived through vending, but we were struggling to get enough food,” said a beneficiary from Makokoba, Siziwe Moyo.

She added, “The WFP assistance has saved us a lot, and we don’t know what we will do once it ends.”

According to WFP officials, the number of food-insecure people in Bulawayo has risen from 27 percent in 2023 to 41 percent in 2024, driven by the ongoing drought and economic challenges. The program targeted the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and large families with no stable source of income.

The WFP official stated that the cash assistance program provided essentials to families, particularly those with the elderly, disabilities, and large income-less families.

Another beneficiary, Lovemore Ndebele, expressed deep concerns about the impending end of the program.

WFP Zimbabwe is rolling out new risk-control measures at its food distributions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. WFP has increased the number of distributions to limit overcrowding, has distributed all protective clothing, health and safety items to the field, has installed hand-washing facilities and is ensuring social distancing. WFP and its partners have launched a communications campaign to pass important health, safety and hygiene information, via SMS, radio and in small community meetings.

In the Photo: a group of beneficiaries are seen physically distancing in line at a WFP food distribution where new health and safety measures have been rolled out to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Madziwa Secondary School, Shamva district, Zimbabwe.

He said, “We have been getting this assistance since 2022, and it has made a significant difference in our lives. We are worried about what will happen once it stops. How will we feed our children?”

The Ndebele family is just one of many in Bulawayo that has come to rely on the WFP program. Residents from other affected suburbs, such as Mzilikazi, Burombo Flats, and S.K. Moyo, have also voiced their worries about the program’s conclusion.

“The need for food assistance in Bulawayo is still very high, and we hope that the government and other organisations will step in to fill the gap left by the WFP program,” said Ndebele.

Last year, Bulawayo Mayor, David Coltart appealed for donations towards the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Fund to cheer up the less privileged.

As the WFP program draws to a close, residents are pleading with the government and other NGOs to step in and provide ongoing support to ensure that vulnerable families in Bulawayo do not fall back into food insecurity.

“We have been relying on this assistance to put food on the table and keep our children healthy,” said Ndebele.

He added, “The thought of losing it is terrifying. We urge the authorities and other organisations to step in and help us through these difficult times.”