During the last months the already fragile humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe has further deteriorated by yet another year of poor agricultural production and the restricted access for the humanitarian actors to the needy population between early March and September 2008. Large numbers of the vulnerable population have become increasingly dependent on humanitarian assistance after having depleted most of their household resources.

Further impacting the humanitarian situation is the high level of internal and external displacement associated with election violence and land tenure issues. Underlying the crisis remains the erosion of all segments of the economy for more than a decade and the high inflation rate of over 231 million percent which is by far the highest in the world.

The poor Zimbabwe’s economy continues to erode basic social service delivery, and galvanise the migration of skilled and unskilled labour. Diaspora remittance support has played a significant role in mitigating the impact of the humanitarian crisis, particularly for families living in the vulnerable urban areas and the southern part of the country. However, due to the complexity of the humanitarian situation, the social networks as major part of the survival strategies of the poorest population have severely weakened.