Building Resilience to Food Insecurity in Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe: Lessons for Best Practice

This study examines urban food insecurity resilience strategies in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, using a food systems lens focusing on production, distribution, retail, and consumption dimensions. Mixed-methods research (200 household surveys, focus groups, stakeholder interviews) revealed 50.5% of surveyed households experienced food insecurity despite over 95% accessing purchased food. Hyperinflation and unemployment drive vulnerability more than production failures. Current interventions – income generation, cash transfers, urban agriculture, market decentralization – show mixed effectiveness due to fragmented coordination and rural-biased programming. We propose multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms, community-based social capital leverage (Ubuntu, church networks), and macro-economic policy advocacy alongside household-level interventions