China provides emergency food assistance to Zimbabwe amid El Nino-induced drought

HARARE, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday provided emergency food assistance to Zimbabwe to assist the southern African country in tackling widespread food insecurity due to the effects of an El Nino-induced drought.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding handed over the 1,760 metric tons of rice to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a ceremony at the State House in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

Thursday's handover event was also attended by several Zimbabwean government ministers and senior officials, as well as representatives of beneficiary institutions.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mnangagwa expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for the generous donation.

"Each time when we have this problem of food insecurity, China has always come to our aid," said the president, adding that the donated food will be distributed to the most vulnerable members of the community, including orphanages, institutions that care for elderly persons and people living with disabilities.

"As a result of the El Nino-drought, the food insecurity not only in Zimbabwe but in the region is actually prevalent, but we believe that we shall continue to receive assistance and cooperation from our cooperating partners as well as our sister republics like the People's Republic of China, who have always stood by us when we are faced with challenges of this nature. We are very grateful," he said.

Zhou said he was pleased to hand over the food assistance in response to the Zimbabwean government's appeal for humanitarian aid following the drought.

"Right after your Excellency declared the state of national disaster, the Chinese government acted quickly to answer your call for support. So this is a new batch of emergency food assistance to Zimbabwe, and China will donate another batch of food assistance this year," Zhou said.

Beneficiaries expressed gratitude to China for the donation, noting that the food assistance will go a long way in alleviating food shortages at their institutions.

"We are so grateful to China for this assistance, especially in this time of the El Nino-induced drought. This is a very important intervention, and we expect Zimbabweans to go ahead in this difficult time because of this special assistance, which came on time. We remain grateful," said Douglas Matatani, one of the beneficiaries.