Press Release - Sweden increases humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, 25 March 2009 - The Swedish government, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), has contributed 84 Million Swedish Crowns corresponding to USD 10 Million to support the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

“As we celebrate the initial steps towards resolving the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe through the formation of the inclusive government we do not lose sight of the humanitarian crisis in the country. As Sweden we reaffirm our commitment to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity for the benefit of the people in need”, says Mr. Sten Rylander, Ambassador of Sweden to Zimbabwe.

“The Zimbabwean state has the primary responsibility for meeting humanitarian needs. In that regard we commend the work of the new inclusive government to democratize and stabilize the country. We are willing, together with the rest of the international donor community, to have a dialogue with the Zimbabwean government and to agree on mutual benchmarks for re-engagement to assist in setting Zimbabwe on the path of recovery”.

The Swedish allocation will be channelled through the 2009 UN Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The CAP 2009 is primarily focused on emergency response and requested 567 MUSD. Sida has decided to increase its contribution to the CAP from last year from 44.5 MSEK to 50 MSEK. The funding will be channeled through support to UNICEF, amounting to 13 MSEK, which will in part be allocated to the provision of vital and essential medicines and medical supplies; other priority areas are food security/agriculture (FAO-9 MSEK, Save the Children UK-1 MSEK), water and sanitation (World Vision 5 MSEK, Mercy Corps 2 MSEK), multi-sector assistance to displaced populations (IOM-18 MSEK) and coordination (OCHA-2 MSEK). Additional humanitarian assistance amounting to 34 MSEK will be channelled through the ICRC. ICRC ensures that the lives and physical integrity of people affected by political tension or violence are respected and they all have access to food, health care and safe water.
The announcement of the increased Swedish support was made in connection with a courtesy call 25 March on Prime Minister Right Hon Morgan Tsvangirai and the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Hon Gorden Moyo.

For more information please contact:
Goodhope Ruswa, +263(0)912 365 377/ goodhope.ruswa@foreign.ministry.se

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