Humanitarian response

Mozambique humanitarian situation update: 14th February 2006

Major developments
Contingency planning: On 18 January 2006, the Government of Mozambique presented to donors and UN agencies its contingency plan for this year's rainy season. The contingency plan took into account the possibility of future droughts, floods and cyclones.

This year, there is already a rain-induced flood on the Zambezi, which is likely to worsen, as more water is discharged from the Cahora Bassa dam. There is also fear of flooding elsewhere in central Mozambique, notably in the Pungue and Buzi valleys. The budget of the contingency plan is calculated according to a "maximum" and a "minimum” scenario. In the former, 3.15 million people will be in need of assistance, and in the latter 1.11 million. Whereas the minimum scenario envisages emergency goods to a value of 4.46 million dollars, the figure rises to 14.11 million in the maximum scenario. The ten million dollar financial difference between the two scenarios results exclusively from the additional emergency goods that will be required in the "maximum" scenario.250,000 dollars is requested for disaster management, and 19.1 million dollars for reconstruction and development.

Despite the current heavy rainfall, the country is still coping with the effects of last year's drought with 1.15 million people in seven provinces being affected. Of this figure, about 800,000 need food aid until they harvest their crops in March. In line with the National Contingency Plan, UNICEF’s Emergency Co-ordination and Management Team (ECMT) updated UNICEF’s EPRP 2006 incorporating a chapter on the Avian Influenza Pandemic. The UNICEF EPRP for 2006 provides inputs to the UN EPRP currently being finalized by UNDMT WG.

Floods monitoring: Mozambique's disaster contingency plan will be put to the test as heavy rains continue to fall and consequently the water levels of rivers are rising, causing serious floods in the central regions of the country, while in the south there is not enough water in the rivers. INGC, sectoral ministries and UN agencies are holding weekly emergency meetings “CTE-Conselho Técnico de Emergência" to monitor the situation:

The Zambezi river is precariously high. In Marromeu district the water level was measured at 5.54 meters on 26 January, which is above the flood alert level of 4.75 meters and could affect over 19,000 people who live on 11 islands in the river, and on the flat plains of Goora and Nponda on the south bank of the Zambezi. Eight of the islands were evacuated, and the evacuees resettled at the Chupanga administrative post. At Caia, the river fell from 6.06 meters to 5.95 meters on 26 January but is still above the flood alert level. People living near the banks or on islands in the middle of the river, continue to move to safer and higher grounds. Caia district is on "maximum alert", 130 people who left Nhanhe island were temporarily resettled in Sacatuca. 133 households still on Nhanhe must urgently leave the island, while 155 households are preparing to leave Ruzenda island. At Tete city the level of the Zambezi fell from 3.75 meters to 2.97 meters by 26 January which is nowhere near the flood alert level of five meters.

The Pungue river at Mafambisse reached 7.42 meters on 24 January (8 cm. below flood level) and by 25 January the level decreased to 7.38 meters.

Cholera outbreak: A total of 1,506 cumulative cholera cases and three deaths have been recorded from 1 January to 6 February 2006, and the peak cholera season has only just begun. The cholera outbreak continues to register the most new cases in drought affected areas in addition to flood-stricken areas in the central region; mainly Sofala province (Beira City, Buzi, Caia and Nhamatanda and Dondo), Zambézia province (Quelimane City, namcurra, Gile and Mopeia) and Manica province (Manica and Chomoio city).

Assessments:
Field monitoring mission: A multi-sectoral mission led by INGC was conducted in flooded areas. The mission assessed the situation in Sofala and Zambezia and established field teams to closely monitor the situation at the district level. Paulo Zucula, director of INGC, described the situation as "critical". Mozambique will remain on alert following the flooding of 21 January affecting 12,000 people in the central areas of Mozambique. People in various flood-prone areas have to be evacuated and food aid must be ensured to evacuees. Rescue squads were on standby and Red Cross volunteers disseminated information on evacuation procedures and distributed around 200 radios to communities so that people could be warned of danger. WFP plans to expand relief aid to flood-affected people and is currently providing food to 1,900 people who were evacuated a few days ago from an island in the Zambezi near Caia in Sofala province. There is also an air operation in the pipeline should serious flooding occur.

Mission of the UN Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa: James Morris, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian Needs for Southern Africa, visited Mozambique between 31 January and 1 February 2006. The purpose of his visit was threefold: (1) Review the humanitarian crisis affecting the region due to the persistent drought, and take stock of the response of the international community to the crisis (2) look at how the government and the international community are addressing the more chronic, “triple threat” crisis, including responses to HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and weakened governance capacity (3) Examine the UN’s response and focus areas regarding emergencies to ensure maximum effectiveness of the UN system in Southern Africa.

UNICEF Response:
Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion: Immediate assistance amounting to $80,000 was provided to Beira as a number of areas were flooded due to the heavy rain. The situation in Beira was further acerbated by poor drainage and sanitation systems. UNICEF is also supporting cholera prevention in affected areas through the provision of WSHP emergency supplies for the treatment of water (chlorine, bladders, water treatment units) and for environmental clean up (gloves, face masks, shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, boots). As part of the drought response, UNICEF continues to support the sector through the rehabilitation of 124 and construction of 18 water points (of which 23% is completed) providing access to safe water for 81,000 people in Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Sofala, Zambézia and Tete provinces and trucking of safe water to the most affected communities reaching around 134,000 people in Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Tete, Nampula provinces.

Nutrition and health: The different activities of the integrated nutrition and health programme (INHP) are still ongoing in 18 drought-affected districts. During January training sessions for trainers, health workers and NGO partners were conducted and a national nutritionist was recruited by UNICEF to support field coordination on a short-term basis. As part of the cholera response, 13 tents were provided to DPS Sofala to establish CTCs in Beira and Caia. The Ministry of Health approved the training curriculum on cholera case management and additional funds were disbursed to train health workers recruited in the areas most affected by the cholera outbreak (Sofala, Zambézia and Manica provinces). The workshops will take place in the first week of February.

Communication: A social mobilisation and communication campaign for cholera prevention is supported by UNICEF, Social Communication Institute (ICS), Radio Mozambique (RM), Grupo de Teatro do Oprimido (GTO), MoH in affected areas of Zambezia Province (Quelimane, Mocuba, Lugela and Maganja da Costa) and Sofala Province (Beira, Buzi and Marromeu and Caia). The campaign includes radio broadcasts, mobile unit activities and community theatre plays.

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