Despite the numerous strides that have been made towards ensuring food security since the launch of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the gap between the rich and poor across and within countries is still worryingly too large. Around 57.7% of the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) population is food insecure compared to 26.4% of the world population. It is therefore necessary to make concerted efforts to improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the developing world particularly among the poorest and most vulnerable groups. This paper employs propensity score matching analysis to explore gender heterogeneity in the impact of bonding and bridging social capital on household food security on the basis of a nationally representative sample of Zimbabwean households. It offers five major findings. First, female headed households are more likely to have bonding social capital than their male counterparts. Second, there are no gender differences in the household’s ability to possess bridging social capital. Third, household spatial proximity to households with social capital improves the probability of the household possessing social capital. Fourth, both bonding and bridging social capital improves household food security. Finally, female headed households are more able to increase food security than those headed by males when they have both bonding and bridging social capital. The study argues that coping strategies should target putting the family at the core of inclusive development agendas such as food and nutrition assistance programmes in order to maximise the likelihood of easing food insecurity within communities.

The Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS 2010-11) showed that only 6 percent of the population is covered by health insurance in Zimbabwe. This study investigated the feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) as an alternative to pooling risk and financing social protection in Zimbabwe. Willingness to Pay (WTP) for health insurance and socioeconomic data were collected through interviews with 121 household heads selected using a 2-stage sampling procedure on 14 villages in Musana and Domboshava rural areas, a population which is largely unemployed and reliant on subsistence agriculture. A CBHI scheme was established and followed up for 3 years documenting data on visits made, financial contributions from recruited households and their actual health expenditures. Findings indicate that CBHI is generally accepted as a means of health insurance in rural communities. The median willingness to pay for health insurance was $5.43 against monthly expenditures ranging of up to $180. The low WTP is attributable to low incomes as only 3.4 percent of the respondents relied on formal employment. Trust issues, adverse selection, moral hazard, and administration costs were challenges threatening sustainability of CBHI. A financial gap averaging 42% was generally on a downward trend and was closed by the end of the follow-up study as contributions were equivalent to medical expenses. We conclude that CBHI is feasible, has potential for sustainability and should be considered as a springboard for the planned Zimbabwean National Health Insurance.

The study seeks to assess the role played by market middlemen in smallholder horticultural products markets in Zimbabwe. There are contrasting views regarding the role of these middlemen among both farmers and farmers' representative bodies. One view maintains that middlemen are unnecessary while the other view contends that they are needed. We carried out this study under a research project HIC 1 funded by BUSE 2 to provide market information to smallholder horticultural farmers. The study is based mainly on observations, discussions and interviews of various stakeholders in the horticultural markets. Results indicated that middlemen are largely beneficial to most market participants especially farmers. For instance, they carry out a daily assessment of markets which act as a cheap source of information to farmers.

Climate change–induced extreme weather events such as drought have occurred with increasing frequency and intensity in Zimbabwe over the past 30 years bringing about pressure on communally owned water resources. Using the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee 2020 survey of rural households in Zimbabwe, this study assesses the impact of drought shock on the occurrence of water point violence. The impact of self‐reported drought shock on the likelihood of occurrence of social conflict in the form of water point violence is subject to confounding due to selection bias. Using the doubly robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment to account for confounding, we investigate gender dimensions of the impact of drought on inducing water point violence in rural Zimbabwe. The study offers three major findings. First, drought shock is associated with increased household propensity to experience water point violence. Second, the severity of the drought shock impact increases the probability of the household experiencing water point violence. Third, drought shock–induced water point violence is only statistically valid for households where the water‐fetcher is a woman or girl. The results suggest that the impact of drought shocks on water point violence is gendered and disadvantages women and girls more than men and boys.

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