Source: Resilience initiative to benefit 450 000 – herald
Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
WITH support from United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe, climate resilience, food security and sustainable livelihood initiatives are being scaled up to benefit 450 000 people across seven districts, including communities in the country’s southern regions.
The interventions are being implemented through the second phase of the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF 2), which was launched in March last year with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
In a statement yesterday, UNDP Zimbabwe said ZRBF2 will run from 2025 to 2028, building on the achievements of the programme’s first phase, which reached more than 1,1 million Zimbabweans between 2015 and 2023.
Of the beneficiaries reached during Phase 1, 62 percent were women, while 25 percent were youths.
The programme focuses on climate action, sustainable natural resource management, food and nutrition security and locally-led development in the Mid-Zambezi, south-western and southern regions.
“Zimbabwe continues to face intensifying climate-related shocks, including recurrent droughts, floods and erratic rainfall, which directly affect rural livelihoods and national development,” said UNDP Zimbabwe.
“Yet across Zimbabwe, communities are also demonstrating that resilience is not only about surviving a crisis. It is about preparing earlier, adapting faster, protecting local ecosystems and creating new economic opportunities even in difficult conditions.”
UNDP Zimbabwe said the fund was established in 2015 to shift development efforts from short-term recovery interventions towards long-term resilience building.
Through Phase 1, communities benefited from climate-smart agriculture, savings and lending groups, market linkages, early warning systems and locally-driven innovations that strengthened their ability to withstand climate shocks.
In districts such as Mbire District, Kariba District and Hurungwe District, bridging investments made between 2023 and 2025 helped sustain gains through expanded water infrastructure, agro-processing centres, mushroom production projects, livelihood support initiatives and community-based climate adaptation programmes.
“Climate-smart agriculture, savings groups, market linkages, early warning systems and local innovation helped communities withstand shocks, recover faster and build more sustainable livelihoods,” the organisation said.
“ZRBF Phase 2 is now scaling up resilience action for 450 000 people across seven districts, with a focus on climate action, sustainable natural resource management, food and nutrition security, and locally-led development.”
UNDP Zimbabwe resident representative Ayodele Odusola said the second phase places greater emphasis on sustainable natural resource management and strengthening local systems.
“ZRBF 2 builds on past successes to ensure that communities, including those in hard-to-reach areas, are empowered to manage their natural resources, improve food security and adapt to climate and economic challenges,” he said.
Outgoing EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann said resilience-building requires sustained collaboration among development partners, Government and communities.
“By working together and building on past successes, we can create lasting, positive change,” he said.
Meanwhile, Austin Gormley said both men and women living in communities most vulnerable to climate-related hazards would benefit equally from the programme’s second phase.
The initiative is expected to strengthen livelihoods, improve food security and enhance communities’ capacity to withstand climate and economic shocks while supporting Zimbabwe’s broader sustainable development goals.
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