Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
In a bid to understand the challenges and needs of the urban population, government has launched the 2024 Urban Livelihoods Assessment.
The nationwide initiative, spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZIMLAC) made up of various government ministries, is meant to gather crucial data on how urban residents live, work and eat.
Nutrition Director – Food and Nutrition Council, Ms Siboniso Chigova said, “As the convenor and the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment, we have commenced our urban livelihood assessment in all the urban areas around Zimbabwe and we are targeting 30 households per enumeration area. Our teams have been deployed in all urban areas and we expect to collect this data that is going to inform policy programming and interventions that are meant to improve the livelihoods of the urban population particularly looking at areas to do with livelihoods, food security, nutrition, the socio economic profiles, access to basic services, water and sanitation sources of income. We are looking at the parameters influencing the livelihood options looking at the urban areas in Zimbabwe.”
“We are assessing how people live in urban areas. ZIMLAC is a multi-stakeholder, because if we look at how people live, all sectors are involved like us in the agriculture sector there are others who are surviving on agriculture so livelihoods differ with geographical locations,” explained Chief Agricultural Extension Specialist, Ms Shamiso Chikobvu.
This intensive data collection initiative, spanning 15 days, is covering a wide range of topics from food consumption patterns, income sources, water availability, and disease prevalence.
“I have been asked a lot of questions and some of them were on cholera and our water sources,” said a participant.
“We told them about the bad roads here in Mabvuku as well as the lack of tap water and we hope that government will be able to fix that for us,” said another.
“This is my first time to meet the ZIMLAC enumerators and am happy that I got a chance to inform them about how we live our lives here in Epworth,” said yet another participant.
The initiative represents a significant step towards addressing the needs of Zimbabwe’s urban population.
By gathering comprehensive data and actively listening to residents’ concerns, government aims to develop targeted policies and interventions that improve livelihoods, ensure food security, and provide access to essential services.
