The World Food Programme warned on Friday that 1.1 million Zimbabweans could need food aid before the next harvest in 2019, with rural smallholders most at risk of food shortages. Growing food prices and the country's dire economic state could also affect those living in urban areas, the UN food agency added.
"WFP plans to address the most urgent food security needs of 1,135,500 people during the peak of the 2018-19 lean season," said the agency's Zimbabwe spokeswoman Ashley Baxstrom in a statement.
"Vulnerable groups are always disproportionately affected by adverse conditions (and) shocks." The WFP said that $71.2 million (61.1 million euros) would be needed for the planned response, with $22 million already raised - largely from USAID.
The WFP's warning follows a report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network which said poor families in arid areas of Zimbabwe are running out of food.