were loosened. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the country in October 2009 concluded that the economy had begun to recover in 2009 “albeit from a low base”. 61 109. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated that almost 9 million Zimbabweans, amounting to 75 per cent of the population, required food aid during February 2009. 62 Despite a great improvement in the harvest in 2009, the prevailing socioeconomic conditions in the country meant that food insecurity was still critical, and in August 2009 it was estimated that 2.8 million people needed assistance until the next harvest in 2010. 63 Forty-seven per cent of the population is estimated to be undernourished. Unemployment was reported to be at 94 per cent at the end of 2008. 64 Much of the population appears to work in the informal economy and, most particularly, in cross-border trading. 110. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen from an average of 55.6 years for the years 1970–75, to an average of 40 years for the years 2000–05. 65 There are indications that the 2008 male life expectancy in Zimbabwe was 37 years and female life expectancy was 34 years. 66 The latest data indicate an adult HIV prevalence of 18 per cent. 67 A cholera epidemic struck in August 2008 and, as of 31 July 2009, 4,288 people had died and 98,592 people had been infected. All ten of the country’s provinces were affected. 68 61 Statement of the IMF’s mission to Zimbabwe, 29 Oct. 2009, available at www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09376.htm. 62 Report released 10 Mar. 2009. See: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-7Q2DUE?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P. 63 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Operations update Zimbabwe: food insecurity, 26 Aug. 2009, available at http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/08/MDRZW00308.pdf. 64 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jan. 2009: referring to employment in the formal sector. 65 Human Development Index 2007/8. 66 Economist Intelligence Unit Country Profile 2008, op. cit., p. 10. See Human Development Report 2009, op. cit., where 2007 data is quoted as showing that healthy life expectancy at birth for 2007 was 38 years. 67 Based on data from 2005–6: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the WHO Sub-Saharan Africa AIDS epidemic update – regional summary (UNAIDS, 2008). 68 See http://www.who.int/hac/crises/zwe/sitreps/zimbabwe_cholera_update_30july2009.pdf. Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3 39