UN raises $331m aid appeal for Zimbabwe

The UN food agency on Tuesday launched a $331-million appeal for aid donations to feed millions of people in crisis-hit Zimbabwe, which is reeling from a drought and the high cost of food. Around five million people, or a third of the 16 million Zimbabweans, are in need of aid and at least half of them are on the cusp of “starvation”, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). Speaking at the launch of the appeal, WFP executive director David Beasley said 2.5 million Zimbabweans were “in crisis emergency mode... marching towards starvation”.