The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief
Operations Update no. 5; Period covered: 1 June to 15 July 2007; Appeal coverage: 37%.
Appeal history:
- Preliminary Emergency Appeal launched on 16 February 2007 for CHF 7,464,923 (USD 5,971,938 or EUR 4,524,196) in cash, kind or services, for 6 months to assist 100,000 beneficiaries (20,000 families).
- Revised Emergency Appeal launched on 14 March 2007 for CHF 20.6m (USD 16.9m or EUR 12.8m) in cash, kind or services for 6 months to assist 117,235 beneficiaries (23,447 families).
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 187,000.
Outstanding needs: CHF 13,062,953 (USD 10,849,629 or EUR 7,916,941).
Operational Summary: On the Mozambique Red Cross Society (CVM) day, 10 July, the National Society took the opportunity to review the floods and cyclone emergency response at a national volunteer youth camp. Volunteers involved in disaster preparedness and emergency response activities in flood and cyclone affected areas shared experiences, evaluated the operation and identified areas for strengthening CVM's overall disaster management capacity.
The recovery phase is continuing, although a lack of funding is restricting the capacity of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to assist vulnerable populations as they rebuild their lives after the floods and cyclone. In many resettlement centres in flood-affected areas, communities are facing problems of accessing clean water and adequate sanitation.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-funded water and sanitation project aimed at improving access to drinking water and increasing awareness of hygiene practices is nearing completion. Ten boreholes are now complete and in use by communities. Establishment of community-based water committees to maintain the water points is under way.
For longer-term programmes, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal for Mozambique (MAAMZ001).
Background
In the first half of 2007, Mozambique faced a series of severe natural and manmade disasters. More than 160,000 people were displaced from their homes, leaving behind possessions, livestock and livelihoods as torrential rains and surplus water discharged from the Cahoba Bassa dam, along the Zambezi River, flooded central parts of the country. Displaced families were moved to temporary accommodation centres established by the government, with humanitarian agencies and other partners meeting basic needs of water, sanitation, food and shelter.
On 22 February 2007, a tropical cyclone "Favio" swept across Inhambane Province destroying homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. More than 130,000 people were affected; government agencies and humanitarian partners put together resources to assist the survivors of the second natural disaster in two months. The capacity and resources of the government and partners were further stretched in March 2007, when explosions at an ammunitions depot in a Maputo suburb killed more than 100 people and left over 500 homeless.
Operational developments
A cholera outbreak has been confirmed in Chemba district, one of the flood-affected areas; a total of 43 diarrhoeal cases have been recorded. The Ministry of Health (MoH) has sent additional medical personnel to deal with the situation and CVM volunteers are playing a crucial role at water points such as rivers and wells; they are using chlorine to treat all water collected so as to prevent possible contamination of water and water containers. CVM and the International Federation have also donated one cholera kit to MoH for use in the district. The local hospital has indicated that the situation is now under control.
Due to a significant seasonal rainfall deficit, southern and central parts of Mozambique are now experiencing lower than average agricultural production (down by 27 per cent from last year and 18.8 per cent lower than the five year average). The poor harvest is contributing to increased food insecurity in the region, where households are largely self subsistent.(1)
In the meantime, the situation in flood-affected areas is bleak. Most people have moved to resettlement sites identified by the government, but water and sanitation facilities are limited. Five months on from the disaster, the only shelters for many resettled people are weather worn tents that may not withstand the next rainy season. Majority of humanitarian agencies have left the affected areas. Rehabilitation has been delayed while families wait to receive materials for construction of new houses on higher and safer grounds.
CVM has developed a plan for rehabilitation in flood and cyclone affected areas. It focuses on supporting rehabilitation through provision of permanent WatSan and health facilities, support in constructing stronger disaster-resistant shelters as well as distributing seeds and tools. The plan also seeks to strengthen community disaster management capacities so to better prepared them to face future potential disasters.
With the emergency phase over, the Red Cross/Red Crescent intervention is now focusing on recovery and rehabilitation. However, donor response to the appeal has been slow; CVM and the Federation are thus renewing their request to donors to support the appeal so as to enable implementation of the rehabilitation phase as well as to cover costs incurred during the initial floods and cyclone emergency responses.
Note
(1) Source: Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET)- http://www.fews.net
Contact information
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Mozambique: Fernanda Teixeira, Secretary General, Mozambique Red Cross Society, Maputo; email: fernanda.teixeira@redcross.org.mz; telephone +258.1.497.721; +258.1.490.943; mobile +258.82.31.16.25; fax +258.1.497.725.
In Mozambique: Hofi Gardarsdottir, acting Head of Federation Mozambique Delegation, Maputo; email: hofi.gardarsdottir@ifrc.org; telephone + 258.21.497.721; mobile + 258. 82.702.8316; fax. +258.21.497.725.
In Zimbabwe: Françoise Le Goff, Head of Zone for Southern Africa, Harare; email: francoise.legoff@ifrc.org; phone +263.4.70.61.55, +263.4.72.03.15; fax +263.4.70.87.84
In Geneva: John Roche, Federation Officer for Southern Africa Zone, Geneva; email: john.roche@ifrc.org; telephone +41.22.730.44.00; fax +41.22.733.03.95