Assessing non-governmental organizations (NGOS) drought risk management strategies in Gwanda District, Zimbabwe
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Date
2014
Authors
Bhebe, Babra Ontibile
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Drought represents a major constraint on agricultural production in Zimbabwe. Every year,
NGOs intervene in drought affected areas to alleviate hunger and starvation. According to the
Zimbabwe VuLnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) (2012) approximately 1 million
people (12 per cent of the population) required food assistance at the peak of the 2011/2012 dry
season. It is argued that, this number increased in 2013 to 1.6 million - which accounted to
nearly one in five rural people in Zimbabwe (ZimVAC, 2012). Drought has had wide ranging
effects to communities including; widespread malnutrition, deaths of livestock, loss of income,
declining environmental health standards and massive migration. Amongst the factors that
worsen drought impact in Zimbabwe are HIV/AIDS, massive dependence on rain fed agriculture
and climate change. Past studies have focused on coping strategies adopted by drought distressed
communities covering different case studies. Although this has been useful in understanding the
survival strategies of communities, researchers have not studied the drought problem and how
non- governmental organizations have contributed in mitigating it.
This thesis therefore contributes new and unique evidence on the approaches employed by NGOs
in mitigating drought in Zimbabwe. The study is specifically based on a case study which was
conducted in Masholomoshe village located in Ward 1 of Gwanda rural district.
Through the use of both secondary and documented evidence and primary data the study found
out that, most NGO drought interventions are short term relief measures and do not focus on
preparedness, prevention, or mitigation aspects of drought management. This thesis also reveals
the need to promote proactive drought risk reduction strategies and activities to address
community vulnerabilities to drought rather than relying solely on emergency response
measures. This entails a 'transition from crisis management' to 'drought risk management'. The
conclusions from this large and original dataset are placed within the context of the wider
academic debates. The need for new, relevant and more diverse samples is emphasized to
advance discussions on the effectiveness of NGO strategies in drought risk management in
Gwanda.
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Keywords
Droughts -- Zimbabwe, Emergency management -- Zimbabwe, Dissertation (M. Disaster Management (Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa))--University of the Free State, 2014