This week's agreement by Zimbabwe's main political parties to work together in a unity government has raised hopes for a major infusion of international donor funds to allow the full resumption and expansion of food and other aid to relieve a suffering population.
Initial international reactions included a call from the British-based Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, which said the forthcoming government must urgently tackle the country's deepening food crisis. CAFOD's Zimbabwe program targets 110,000 people.
CAFOD International Director Geoff O’Donoghue told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the elevation to prime minister of Movement for Democratic Change founder Morgan Tsvangirai will not automatically open funding floodgates.But Fambai Ngirande, a spokesman for Zimbabwe's National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, told reporter Rusere that he expects Tsvangirai’s new role to inspire international confidence and trigger new inflows of funding.
