Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has launched his election campaign pledging to revive the country's waning economy and mend strained relations with the West.
Mr Tsvangirai is taking on long-ruling President Robert Mugabe for the presidency in 29 March general polls.
He has promised a new constitution for Zimbabwe within two years if elected into power.
'We believe the Zimbabwean economy is an enclave economy that is uneven, unequal and virtually dead,' Mr Tsvangirai told thousands of supporters gathered at a stadium in the eastern border town of Mutare.
Zimbabwe is reeling under an economic crisis with annual inflation officially at 100,580% - the highest in the world - and chronic shortages of basic commodities like fuel, cooking oil and sugar.
At least three million of its citizens, among them highly-skilled professionals, have migrated to neighbouring South Africa, the UK and Australia.'
He said he would not patch up the tattered economy which has been destroyed to such an extent that it needs to start afresh.
'Zimbabwe is one of the world's great humanitarian crises. We need food, drugs and medical care. The nations of the world are helping but we need more.
'Beyond the humanitarian aid, we need the help of the world to rebuild our economy, but more than anything, we must look after our own.'
He said US$10bn would be required to revive the economy, including resuscitating companies that have folded and establishing a trust fund to woo back professionals who have left the country.
In its election manifesto, the opposition party said that if elected, it would provide free primary education and healthcare for people living with HIV/AIDS, crackdown on corruption and launch an audit targeting land.
Once a force which posed the most serious challenge to Mr Mugabe's nearly three-decade rule, the MDC was torn into two factions following a row on whether to boycott or contest senate elections in 2006.
A bid to patch-up and forge a united front against Mr Mugabe flopped three weeks ago when the factions disagreed on the allocation of constituencies.
