£7.1m European donation to help child health in Zimbabwe

Authorities from the European Commission (EC) yesterday (December 17th) announced a 10 million euro (£7.1 million) donation to back the provision of health services for children in Zimbabwe.

The contribution of funds to the United Nation's children's fund, UNICEF, is particularly targeted towards combating the effects of the country's HIV/AIDS epidemic on orphans and vulnerable children.

Announcing the donation, UNICEF stated that it hoped the money would help improve the situation for as many as 400,000 children who are at the risk of not receiving a full education or adequate health care.

"Today children in Zimbabwe are hardest hit by the socio-economic challenges and the impact of HIV/AIDS," said EC head of delegation, Ambassador Xavier Marchal.

"The communities are struggling. Through these funds we hope to support the efforts of parents and communities across this country," he added.

According to the charity, one in four children in Zimbabwe has lost one or both of their parents, with 1.3 million of those cases due to HIV/AIDS.

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