Zimbabwe’s new power-sharing government isn’t ideal. Robert Mugabe remains president, despite losing last year’s election. His loyalists remain in cha-rge of the army, the Justice Ministry and other key posts that allow them to arrest and intimidate opponents.

Yet respected and competent former opposition leaders now run important ministries like health, education and finance. These reformers ran on the promise of improving the lives of Zimbabwe’s long-suffering people.

The United States and Europe can help them deliver on those promises by providing increased financial resources. Zimbabwe’s own economy has been bled dry by decades of Mr. Mugabe’s disastrous policies, which have destroyed its currency, crippled its agriculture, mining and industry, and blighted millions of lives through preventable famine and epidemics. And without continued sanctions targeted against Mr. Mugabe and his thuggish collaborators, even the limited progress

so far achieved could easily be reversed. The challenge is to keep the pressure on the relatively few villains committed to keeping Mr. Mugabe in power, while providing some relief to the millions of victims of his catastrophic misrule.

Increased humanitarian aid could free up more of Zimbabwe’s own funds to pay living wages to essential civil servants.