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Zimbabwe

Country profile

In 1980 Robert Mugabe's ZANU party won the election in Southern Rhodesia, heralding black majority rule. The country was renamed Zimbabwe.

Although Mugabe played an important role in ending white rule in Zimbabwe and putting the country on a stable course after independence, he now presides over political and social strife and a shattered economy.

Violation of human rights

During the last decade of the last millennium, Zimbabwe gradually experienced more and more violation of human rights, abolishment of the rule of law and increasing state terrorism. From 2001 the violations accelerated in connection with the referendum and the much debated land redistribution process.

Food insecurity and HIV/AIDS epidemic

For the poor people the economic hardship and thus the poverty level have increased tremendously. The diminished agricultural production in Zimbabwe affects not only the food security of Zimbabweans but leads to reduced availability of food in the region, as Zimbabwe has traditionally been an exporter of grain. The HIV/AIDS epidemic intensifies the consequences of the critical food shortages in Zimbabwe, which is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic with an estimated prevalence of 33 per cent.

In the grip of the worst humanitarian crisis

Zimbabwe has the world's lowest life expectancy and the World Food Programme estimates a third of the population faces food shortages. Read more at Reuters Alertnet: Zimbabwe crisis .