Nearly 5 million Zimbabweans will require emergency food aid in the coming months, and as a result of recent presidential-election-related violence, thousands more have been displaced from their homes, according to a recent United Nations report.

"A humanitarian crisis looms, yet the government of Zimbabwe continues to suspend most nongovernmental organizations' access to vulnerable people in dire need of life-saving humanitarian assistance," the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said August 1.

USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore called for the Zimbabwean regime to "immediately and completely rescind the June 4 NGO suspension order" that blocked nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from providing humanitarian assistance. Zimbabwe's government ordered all humanitarian aid groups to suspend their operations, which relief agencies estimate will deprive 2 million people of food aid and other basic assistance.

In addition to rescinding its order, Fore also called on the Zimbabwean regime to advise all levels of government and Zimbabwean agencies that the NGO suspension has been lifted, guarantee the safety and security of all humanitarian aid workers, give unimpeded access for humanitarian aid work across the impoverished country, and respect the right of affected people to move freely to seek and receive protection and assistance.

"For two months now, humanitarian workers have been ordered to stay in their offices instead of delivering aid to vulnerable children and families," said Ky Luu, director of USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.

Shoppers pass empty food shelves in Zimbabwe's capital Harare as the post-election political crisis continues. (© AP Images)

"U.N. agencies have been blocked when trying to access areas of greatest need. Humanitarian workers are routinely harassed and intimidated, and the financial resources of many organizations have been impounded by the Zimbabwean authorities," Luu said. He recently traveled to Zimbabwe and consulted with humanitarian agencies, U.N. agencies and donor representatives.

On July 25, President Bush signed an executive order expanding sanctions against the "illegitimate" regime of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, and his supporters. "No regime should ignore the will of its own people and calls from the international community without consequences," Bush said.

The U.S. Treasury Department designated 17 entities and one individual identified as supporting Mugabe's regime as subject to the sanctions.

"In light of the continued intransigence of the brutal Mugabe regime, the [United States] is imposing further sanctions against this regime and its supporters," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "These actions send a clear warning to those who would protect Mugabe and his assets at the expense of the Zimbabwean people."

The sanctions effectively block any individuals closely associated with Mugabe from operating in U.S. financial markets, directly or indirectly.

The European Union on July 22 expanded similar sanctions against Zimbabweans, adding 37 new individuals and companies to the existing list of 131.

On June 30 Bush issued a statement reiterating that the United States "stands ready to support a legitimate government in Zimbabwe through a robust package of development assistance, debt relief, and normalization with international financial institutions. In the meantime," he added, "we will continue to support the people of Zimbabwe by providing food assistance to more than 1 million people and AIDS treatment to more than 40,000 people."