Cyclone Idai made its way into Zimbabwe on Friday, March 15 causing massive flooding and landslides affecting tens of thousands of people.
“The disaster is compounding an already dire situation with those living in the hardest hit areas facing severe food insecurity” a statement by the IRC on Wednesday said.
The IRC said it has immediately launched an emergency response to assess the damage and deliver medical care and supplies, food and dignity kits to those in need.
“The IRC continues to monitor the damage and is ready to scale up our response; however, it is urgent that international donors make emergency funding available to shore up a response commensurate with the needs” its statement said.
Paolo Cernuschi, Zimbabwe Country Director at the International Rescue Committee, said “Our teams have been on the ground since Monday supporting the response in Chipinge, and are on standby with emergency supplies to immediately deliver assistance to the most affected district Chimanimani as soon as access is restored”.
The IRC began working in Zimbabwe in 2008 to respond to the devastating cholera outbreak and has since significantly scaled up it programming to work with local communities to improve sanitation, access to clean water, safe delivery for pregnant women, and livelihood opportunities and improved agriculture for farmers.