CERF allocates US$ 550,000 to assist cyclone Jokwe victims in Mozambique
20 March: On 9 March, tropical cyclone Jokwe hit northern and central Mozambique with winds of up to 200 km/h, killing at least 7 people, and leaving a trail of destruction in its path. Thousands of homes have been partially or totally destroyed, trees uprooted and power line infrastructure severely damaged leaving several towns and villages without electricity.
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| WFP is providing essential food to cyclone Jokwe victims [Photo: WFP] |
The World Food Programme (WFP) is responding by distributing food rations to 60,000 people who have lost their homes, food reserves, crops and livelihoods due to the cyclone. Emergency food commodities will be locally purchased with CERF funds and distributed over the course of one month while a medium term response is planned. WFP will provide cereal, pulses and oil to cyclone-affected people to ensure that they receive adequate and nutritious food.
[Last update: 10 April 2008]
CERF provides US$ 4.3 million to support victims of the floods in Mozambique
While still recovering from the devastating floods of early 2007, Mozambique is again experiencing a major flood situation in the centre of the country. These floods are the consequence of high levels of rainfall in Mozambique since late December 2007, compounded by persistent heavy rains in neighbouring countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi). While the impact is anticipated to be greatest in the Zambezi River basin, the situation is also worsening in the Búzi, Púngue, Save and Licungo basins where the hydrometric levels are rising in the upper zone due to intense rains in the central region and in Zimbabwe.
As a result, approximately 282,000 people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Preliminary reports indicate that internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living in overcrowded camps and facing sanitary problems. Most of the families do not have access to potable water putting people at high risk of diarrhoea and cholera and possibly malaria. According to reports many locations are inaccessible by road.
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Mozambique's floods have created havoc and claimed lives
[Photo: IRIN] |
The CERF allocation is enabling World Food Programme (WFP) to mobilize one helicopter for operations out of Caia for an additional three weeks. The funds are also being used to deploy one extra staff to strengthen coordination within the Logistics Cluster.
Even though 15,200 families (or 76,000 people) affected by the floods had been evacuated to resettlement areas or transitional camps by mid-January, there are still at least 5,000 families in urgent need of shelter assistance. CERF funding is allowing the UN to assist 3,500 families under the overall coordination of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). National non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are delivering 3,500 households kits to the vulnerable population, including sick people, single women, and child-headed households.
The health cluster contributes to the provision of life saving health services including curative, preventive care as well as health proportion activities to people affected by floods in the Zambezi, Pongue, Save and Buzi basin areas. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are using CERF funds to strengthen the epidemic diseases surveillance and response, as well as indoor residual spraying against mosquitoes. In addition, the UN agencies are supplying 80,000 long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. They are also distributing condoms to youth and adults, as well as campaign materials covering health topics, such as cholera, malaria, and HIV/AIDS prevention, and promoting hygiene practices within the affected areas. UNAIDS is distributing Health IEC materials and carrying out social mobilization activities and trainings including.
CERF funding will enable the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide sufficient learning materials for all children of school-going age in resettlement and accommodation centres in the flood affected areas to ensure a minimum level of quality of the education provided, in partnership with WES (water, sanitation and hygiene) and protection (psycho-social care) cluster partners.
Other UNICEF projects include
- the protection of at least 140,000 vulnerable population, including children, women, older people and persons with disabilities based in the resettlement and accommodation centres by centre staff, police and community leaders;
- nutritional support to approximately 38,000 under-five children in flood-affected areas;
- provision of water, sanitation and hygiene activities to assist 57,000 people affected by floods; and
- providing life saving health services, including curative, preventive care as well as health proportion activities to 282,000 people in the Zambezi, Pongue, Save and Buzi basin areas.
[Last update: 5 February 2008]