A/HRC/43/44/Add.2 of obtaining food (A/HRC/34/48/Add.1, para. 24). The Government is constitutionally responsible for ensuring the availability of food and for the development of local food production. 44. Currently, 60 per cent of the country’s population of more than 14 million is considered food-insecure, living in a household that is unable to obtain enough food to meet basic needs.12 In 2020, the food security situation is expected to worsen with an estimated 8 million people needing urgent action to save livelihoods. 45. Widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, liquidity challenges, a pervasive climate of corruption, economic instability, the mismanagement of funds, natural disasters, recurrent droughts, and economic sanctions and conditionalities, all contribute to the country’s current crisis. 46. According to recent data released by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC), a staggering 5.5 million people (38 per cent of the population) are currently facing food insecurity. Adverse weather conditions halved the 2019 cereal harvest in Zimbabwe. The number of food-insecure people is expected to almost double in early 2020 compared with the same period in the prior year. The peasant community, which produces 70 per cent of staple foods (maize, millet and groundnuts), is particularly vulnerable. It has access to less than 5 per cent of the irrigation facilities and is struggling to access productive resources owing to cash shortages. 47. According to the 2019 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis,13 a total of 25 per cent of the rural population are estimated to be at Classification phase 3 (“Crisis”) or phase 4 (“Emergency”) levels of food insecurity and face moderate to large food consumption gaps. Moreover, agricultural labour opportunities have been limited owing to poor productivity, hence affecting the most vulnerable segments of the country’s population. 48. Throughout the last few years the weather conditions in Southern Africa had a detrimental impact on the agriculture. El Niño affected the first half of the agricultural season, from October to December 2018, which resulted in a delayed start of the season. The second half was characterized by prolonged dry spells. In 2019, the eastern and southern parts of Zimbabwe were affected by Cyclone Idai. These climate shocks – droughts and floods – exacerbated by the effects of the fall army worm (a pest of the Lepidopteran order) resulted in a significantly reduced crop harvest. 49. The Special Rapporteur witnessed the consequences of this emergency food crisis in the province of Masvingo and the district of Mwenezi where the drought hit hard. The women and men she spoke to told her that they ate only one portion of sadza (maize porridge) a day. 50. Additionally, households have been affected by animal diseases, which contributed to two thirds of cattle deaths, induced by water shortages and other scarcities. Livestock being the most important asset of rural communities in periods of food crises, the income for these households has fallen sharply. 51. Although the immediate obligation to provide food aid is the duty of a country’s government, in times of emergency the international community has the responsibility to help countries in dire situations. In Zimbabwe, the international humanitarian response system has been essential in reducing the negative effects of Cyclone Idai and the repeated droughts on food security, although it was not enough to compensate for the damage. 52. The Special Rapporteur notes that the imposition of economic sanctions, conditionalities and past fiscal deficiencies all contributed to a negative image of the country, thereby adversely impacting the level of international aid to Zimbabwe, in comparison to neighbouring countries that suffered similar adverse effects from Cyclone Idai. 12 13 See Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee, “Food and nutrition security update report: February 2020”. Available at fnc.org.zw/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ZimVAC-2020-Food-andNutrition-Security-Update-Report.pdf. ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Zimbabwe_Acute%20Food%20Insecurity_ 2019June2019Dec.pdf. 9