A new food deficit mitigation strategic manual to be used when distributing food to food insecure families, has been launched.
The manual was crafted by the Government in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
It comes as the Government steps up efforts to improve efficiency in food distribution country-wide.
The food deficit mitigation programme was adapted by Cabinet as part of the larger drought relief management programme to assist vulnerable households.
The manual was launched in Harare on Wednesday, where Chief Director of Social Development and Disability Affairs in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Dr Edmas Mthetwa, said the manual was crucial in ensuring standardisation of aid and food distribution.
“This manual is a very important milestone in our social protection programming in the country,” said Dr Mthetwa.
“It will enable every partner and potential stakeholders who wish to join us in this programme to find where to start from and also to stand guided by standards.”
Dr Mthetwa said there were continuing efforts to build some kind of active resilience by involving communities in the delivery of programmes of this nature.
He said social protection programmes were meant to empower citizens and not manipulate them.
“Any social protection programme is meant to empower communities, it is not charity. Lack of a standardised way of delivering aid to our communities stands to compromise the very same community’s inherent capacity,” said Dr Peta.
The manual is expected to address previous challenges related to the distribution of food support.
WFP representative and country director, Ms Francesca Erdelmann, said the manual will ensure that humanitarian aid distribution was done fairly and equitably.
“We have been working with the Government for the past 20 years in humanitarian and social assistance programmes and we have learnt a lot of things along the way,” she said.
“This manual is also guided by global standards and this will bring coherence and compliance by all partners that want to offer aid to the people in the country.”
Thousands of copies are expected to be distributed countrywide to key stakeholders.
The previous manual was last updated in 2010. – The Herald
