Binga Drought and Floods – A Call for Human Rights Action

A week ago, Binga District in Matabeleland North (Zimbabwe) was one of the Districts heavily affected by drought and there were calls for food aid relief. Just a week later, the calls for relief aid are even worser – not because of the worsening drought but because of flooding. This calls for a serious human rights based approach to settlement, planning and education of our communities.

As MIHR we feel the Binga lesson should be a call for all of us to:

1. Consider strengthening the Civil Protection Unit of government as a human rights disaster protection mechanism;
2. Close civil and political rank to focus on protecting the rights of our people;
3. Remodel rural settlement planning to ensure people are protected from flooding;
4. Invest in road and bridges infrastructure to ensure roads are travelable during such times so that aid and assistance can easily reach the communities;
5. Invest in cellphone network penetration in rural areas.

We join the call by other civil society players for citizens and international community to assist the people of Binga.