Since 2009, between 1.05 million and 1.67 million people – 12 percent to 19 percent of the rural population – have required food assistance during lean seasons. Zimbabwe hasa “serious” global hunger index of 17.3, and 72 percent of the population live below the national poverty line. A third of Zimbabwe’s children are chronically malnourished, with no significant improvement since 1999. The prevalence of HIV and AIDS is among the highest in the world at 13.7 percent of the population.