Drought, collapsed economy put Zimbabwe on the brink, says Caritas

Published: 2007-11-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Continued drought and a collapsed economy have put Zimbabwe on the brink of a major humanitarian crisis, said the second-largest aid network in the world. Caritas Internationalis, an umbrella group of Catholic humanitarian aid and development agencies, made the warning Nov. 5 as it launched a $7 million appeal to help stave off disaster. "Unless the international community fills the shortfall of food, Zimbabwe faces a humanitarian crisis," said the organization's secretary-general, Lesley Anne Knight. "The national health, education and agricultural services have collapsed. Zimbabweans who can are fleeing the tragedy that the country has become," she said. More than 4 million people are at risk of not having enough basic food supplies if they do not receive immediate aid, the Vatican-based organization said in a Nov. 5 press release. Failed harvests due to insufficient rainfall and poorly planned land reform are just some of the elements generating increased suffering for the people of Zimbabwe, it said.

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