The Importance of Social Protection Programmes in the Aftermath of Cyclone Idai and Covid-19: A Case of Chimanimani Ward 15, From 2019 to 2022

Abstract

Zimbabwe has faced a number of shocks recently, some caused by the climate, such as Cyclone Idai and ongoing droughts, and others by economic crises that were made worse by events that occurred throughout the world. The COVID-19 epidemic significantly strained the economy and the capacity of economically disadvantaged households to make ends meet. This study assesses how natural and man-made disasters have impacted negatively on people across the world. In 2019, Zimbabwe was negatively affected by Cyclone Idai and COVID-19 in 2020. The two disasters negatively affected the socio-economic fabric of communities and the nation at large. Livelihoods and infrastructure were destroyed because of the two disasters lockdowns enforced. The available literature has left a research gap on the importance of social protection programmes in the aftermath of disasters. Thus, there was a genuine motivation by the study to move from a general to specific sphere by investigating the importance of social protection programmes in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai and COVID-19. The research is guided by the need to investigate the importance of social protection in the aftermath of these phenomena in Chimanimani, to identify various social protection services/programmes rendered to the Chimanimani community by both government and development partners,, to identify challenges faced by the government and development partners in providing social protection programmes in Chimanimani and to recommend solutions on how to improve the efficiency of social protection programmes offered by the government of Zimbabwe and its development partners. The study is guided by the mixed methodology. The study avers that social protection programmes played a pivotal role in helping the Chimanimani Ward 15 residents to be “resilient”, that is, social protection programmes helped them to bounce back from the two negative shocks, Cyclone Idai and COVID19. The study also found that the Department of Social Development provided social workers for counselling and social support during and after Cyclone Idai to the families that had lost their loved ones. The research notes that social protection programmes are of paramount importance because they help vulnerable families/communities to bounce back through food donations. Information gathered from the study recommends that, for efficiency of the social protection programmes in the aftermath of natural disasters, the Government of Zimbabwe should formulate a sound policy in line with social protection programmes and avail funds to cater for victims during and after natural and man-made disasters. The government should secure and budget adequate resource to respond to shocks posed by natural disasters.