Commonwealth urges international action on Zimbabwe humanitarian crisis

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma on 8 December 2008 expressed grave concern at the dire humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe and called on Commonwealth member countries to give their strong support to the appeal launched by the United Nations to assist the country.

The Secretary-General met with a cross-section of Commonwealth organisations on a response to the Zimbabwe crisis. The previous week Zimbabwe had appealed to the international community for assistance to tackle its challenges. Earlier, the UN launched a global appeal to help Zimbabwe.

"It is deeply disturbing that nearly 6 million people require emergency food aid and that the outbreak of cholera has killed hundreds in Zimbabwe and now spread to its neighbours. I am concerned at the collapse of essential services, such as health, sanitation and education. The Commonwealth's priority is to ensure that urgent relief is made available to the people of Zimbabwe," Mr Sharma said.

"We applaud the work of humanitarian charities and Zimbabwean local authorities in their response to the crisis and hope that they will receive the urgent support they need."

The Secretary-General renewed his hope that the parties in Zimbabwe would speedily find a way forward that overcomes the current political impasse.

Mr Sharma said the Commonwealth had a particular interest in the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe. The situation in that country is also impacting on neighbouring countries - all of which are Commonwealth members.

"The Commonwealth stands ready for further engagement to ameliorate the grave humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe," the Secretary-General concluded.

For media enquiries, please contact Manoah Esipisu, Deputy Spokesperson for the Commonwealth Secretariat, at +44 789 446 2021 or m.esipisu@commonwealth.int.

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