The Sunday News
Kuda Bwititi, Chief Reporter
THE European Union (EU) has shored up its support to Zimbabwe after unveiling a combined US$75 million package to fight Covid-19.
US$40 million was released through the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef)’s Health Development Fund, while another US$35 million was pledged by EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen.
Relations between Zimbabwe and the EU have warmed up in the past few years. In his Independence Day speech last month, President Mnangagwa praised the 27-member bloc for softening its sanctions on Harare.
Responding to questions from our Harare Bureau last week, EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Timo Olkkonen said the bloc was one of the major donors in Zimbabwe’s fight against coronavirus.
“We are working with our partners on several fronts in the fight against Covid-19: the EU in Zimbabwe is one of the major donors of the health sector and our support goes through the Unicef-administered multi-donor Health Development Fund (HDF).
“In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have released an additional US$40 million to the HDF, on top of previous support of 126 million Euro (about US$138 million). This money will mainly support — through our implementing partner UNICEF — the Government’s effort in the fight against Covid-19.”
Ambassador Olkkonen said US$15 million had already been distributed for materials to fight the pandemic.
“About US$15 million of that top-up has already been allocated for equipment (including Covid-19 testing kits and personal protective equipment), for mass awareness campaigns and for financial support to frontline staff — while we maintain our support to access to health care for the general population. In addition, we have also requested our other partners, ranging from international and local NGOs to EU-funded civil society organisations and the Spotlight Initiative implemented through the UN systems, to re-route some of their activities and EU funding towards the Covid-19 response.”
Ambassador Olkkonen said the EU had committed an additional package of US$35 million.
“There is also an additional package of about US$35 million, which our Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, announced to the President recently. This package has three components: a) immediate additional funding to the HDF programme to import mainly more testing kits and protective equipment while maintaining adequate level of service in health facilities, b) additional humanitarian aid funding through the European Union’s Department for Humanitarian Aid, ECHO, the most vulnerable in the provinces most affected by the current food crisis and c) to support the post-Covid-19 food and water needs later in the year.”
Ambassador Olkkonen said an already announced top-up of US$13,5 million to the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund will also be partly used to strengthen the Covid-19 response, including improving water and sanitation facilities at community level “within a couple of months”.
For its part, the Government of Zimbabwe recently unveiled an $18 billion Economic Recovery and Stimulus Package aimed at reinvigorating the economy and providing relief to businesses and families impacted by the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ambassador Olkkonen added that the EU was supporting 25 000 local farmers in all the country’s 10 provinces in partnership with the Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) to boost productivity.
ZAPG is co-ordinating various programmes such as Beef Enterprise Strengthening and Transformation (BEST), Dairy Value Chain (DVC), Inclusive Poultry Value Chain (IPVC), focus on animal health (SAFE), value chain upgrading for pigs and goats (VALUE) and Zimbabwe Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services (ZAKIS).
Ambassador Olkkonen said in the EU-funded agriculture and rural development projects, awareness campaigns have been developed on social distancing targeting field staff and farmers.
He said the EU has been a partner to the Zimbabwean people since independence and “will continue to be here, building our political, economic, trade and development relations as much as we can”.
The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 but over the years it has progressively lifted them and the primary measures that remain are an arms embargo on the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
