The current humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe calls for an evaluation and restructuring of the Zimbabwe Social Welfare Policy and Programs. Priorities need to be centered on the welfare of children, women, the sick,the disabled, low-income families, and the unemployed.
There is a need to cut down spending in sectors such as defence and foreign affairs. The funds that will be saved from this exercise need to be diverted towards social welfare and additionally the national fiscus needs to expand the resource base for this crucial sector. Zimbabwe needs to address the current poverty affecting the majority of the population which cannot afford basic commodities such as mealie-meal, cooking oil, bread, milk, and meat. Tuition in schools is now out of reach for many while clinics and hospitals have since been closed worsening the HIV/AIDS situation and the recent outbreak of cholera.
This blogger recommends food vouchers, tuition assistance, universal health insurance, and unemployment benefits for the virtually idle population. This will stimulate the ailing economy and boost the agricultural, manufacturing, and retail industry. Above all, this will ameliorate the problem of poverty which has become a humanitarian catastrophe in Zimbabwe.
In the upcoming contributions on this subject this blogger will evaluate the current social welfare policy and the Millenium development goals and examine whether they are adequate and being met. This blogger will analyze the mission of the department of social welfare and evaluate whether the government is doing enough or nothing to achieve its goals. Finally, strategies will be recommended of improving the appaling living conditions of Zimbabweans today.
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