Adam Molai Foundation: Rising to the challenge of the COVID-19

The Adam Molai Foundation finds itself at the coalface of the COVID-19 epidemic crisis in that those that have been on the feeding programmes, are faced with a worsening situation that requires continued intervention. This is at a time when projects that have been initiated to alleviate poverty have been paralyzed by the lockdown conditions.

The announcement of the indefinite lockdown by President E.D Mnangagwa on 27 March 2020 was received with mixed feelings with some sections of society feeling that the decision was not made after careful consideration. Those arguing from a public health corner considered the decision as the right one in as far as curtailing the spread of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) is concerned.

Considering the state of the country’s public health system, citizens’ right to health was under threat. This would therefore be a wake-up call for government to upgrade the general health infrastructure necessary to promote, protect and respect the right to health while preparing for an escalation of the outbreak.

The effect of the lockdown on the social and economic wellbeing of citizens in general has been profound. The deteriorating macroeconomic environment is not helping the situation as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens the condition of the poverty-stricken majority. It is the poor that are caught in a catch 22 situation, where hunger looms at a time they cannot go out to make a living.

The declaration of coronavirus as a national disaster came barely a month after the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Zimbabwe. In their report, the IMF bemoaned the economic and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe in which more than half of the population is food insecure.