Dennis Ndlovu|Zim GBC News
Bulilima and Mangwe districts in Matabeleland South have been flagged as some of the country’s most food-insecure areas, projected to be severely affected during the peak hunger period between January and March 2026.
This warning is contained in the 2025 report by the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZimLac), which also notes overall improvements in national food security.
According to the report, the proportion of rural households with acceptable food consumption rose to 59% in 2025, up from 50% in 2024.
Those consuming poor diets dropped significantly from 10% to 6%, reflecting better dietary diversity and access to nutritious food for many across the nation.
Despite this national progress, specific districts remain critically vulnerable.
“During the peak hunger period (January–March 2026), 15% of rural households are projected to be cereal insecure, translating to approximately 1.5 million individuals requiring 118,563 metric tonnes of cereal support,” the report read.
It specifically identified that Kariba (57.6%), Mangwe (43.3%) and Bulilima (43.3%) have the highest proportions of people, who will be food insecure during the peak hunger period.
The crisis is not confined to rural areas. The ZimLac report highlights a severe and ongoing challenge in urban centres.
“However, over 1.4 million urban residents remain food insecure, requiring 156,331 metric tonnes of cereal between July 2025 and March 2026,” read the report.
Urban domains with the highest prevalence of food insecurity include Murehwa-Mutoko-Mudzi (41%), Chivhu (40%), and Mutare (39%).
The nutritional status of children shows mixed progress. In rural areas, the prevalence of wasting is within acceptable WHO limits, but stunting remains a serious concern at 23.8%. Positive developments include Vitamin A supplementation coverage reaching 92.2% for children, and the proportion of children receiving a Minimum Acceptable Diet improved significantly from 2% in 2024 to 11.9% in 2025, though it remains below the national target.
In urban areas, the situation for children is more dire. Stunting improved slightly but is still classified as “high,” while wasting was recorded at 5.3%, slightly above the emergency threshold.
Most alarmingly, only 4.7% of urban children aged 6-23 months received a minimum acceptable diet in 2025, a sharp decline from 10.4% in 2024, indicating a worsening crisis for the youngest urban residents.
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