2007 Floods and Cyclone: Mozambique humanitarian situation update, 8-11 March
Major Developments In areas affected by the Zambezi floods, focus has shifted beyond the immediate humanitarian response phase, and the process of plot demarcation as part of the resettlement process is continuing in all four of the affected provinces. In relation to areas affected by Tropical Cyclone Favio, the Operations Centre in Vilanculos officially declared the immediate humanitarian response phase over on 10 March. 1) TROPICAL CYCLONE FAVIO Needs Assessment With the focus in cyclone affected provinces moving towards the rehabilitation phase, the priority needs are basic supplies for families (in terms of housing materials and basic household items) and the rehabilitation of education and health facilities damaged or destroyed by the cyclone. UNICEF Response Following the declaration of the end of the immediate humanitarian response phase, the focus of partners is now on ensuring the distribution and appropriate use of the remaining supplies. It is expected that all UNICEF supplies will be received and distributed within the coming week. To date, UNICEF has supported over 34,000 people with roofing materials; 470 vulnerable families with family kits; and 810 families with jerry cans and buckets, in the districts of Vilanculos, Inhassoro and Govuro. In terms of education supplies, all available UNICEF supplies, including zinc sheets for 69 schools, tents to serve as temporary learning spaces for 16 schools, school kits and recreation kits, have been distributed to affected districts and UNICEF is now providing oversight to ensure distribution to the affected schools and appropriate use of materials. UNICEF has been providing logistical support to the local authorities to distribute non-food items in areas with limited accessibility, such as Chipongo and Quewene in Inhambane province. The team has also been providing technical assistance to the INGC to update the comprehensive distribution plan for non-food items to reflect additional supplies in the pipeline from partners including the Italian Government, CARE and German Agro Action. At the request of the Government, UNICEF is supporting the development of a strategy for the rehabilitation phase. 2) ZAMBEZI FLOODS Needs Assessment The UNICEF teams based in Caia (Sofala province), Mopeia (Zambezia province) and Mutarara (Tete province) are continuing to work with Government, UN and NGO partners to monitor the immediate and medium term needs in flood affected provinces. The priority concerns in affected areas continue to be food, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the need for hygiene/health education in order to prevent any outbreaks of cholera (no cases have been reported to date). The INGC has raised concern that there are no water treatment plants in some of the centres, notably those in Zambezia province that are not accessible by road. UNICEF has been working with WASH cluster partners to ensure that sufficient supplies of products such as chlorine are available in these centres. UNICEF Response In the flood affected areas, the UNICEF teams are now focusing on supporting the local education, health, water and social action authorities and other partners to distribute the available supplies, and to monitor the situation in the centres to ensure that any additional supply and non-supply needs are identified and addressed in a timely manner. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) In all affected provinces, UNICEF is continuing to work with Government and NGO partners to ensure complete coverage of centres with WASH interventions, in line with the agreed division of labour. With support from UNICEF, community theatre groups are continuing to conduct sessions on the promotion of good hygiene practices, HIV prevention and the prevention of sexual exploitation in Sofala, Manica, Tete and Zambezia provinces. Activities are planned to continue until the end of March. With support from UNICEF, multimedia mobile units are continuing to conduct sessions on the promotion of good hygiene practices and HIV prevention in Sofala, Manica, Tete and Zambezia provinces. Activities are planned to continue until the end of March. Health UNICEF is continuing to work with other partners to support the local health authorities in assessing the health situation in the centres, identifying appropriate referral facilities, and conducting activities including epidemiological surveillance, cholera prevention (no cases have been registered), drug distribution, immunisation, malaria spraying and the distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs). To date, over 53,000 ITNs (2 per family) have been distributed by UNICEF and partners in affected areas. With support from UNICEF to Radio Mozambique and FORCOM, radio spots on cholera prevention produced in Portuguese and eight local languages were broadcast through community radios in Sofala, Manica, Zambezia and Tete for 2 weeks from 22 February to 9 March. Child to child radio programmes and broadcasts by community radios on cholera prevention will be broadcast in Portuguese and local languages from 14 to 31 March in all affected provinces. Activists from the local health authorities and NGO partners including the Mozambican Red Cross and Food for the Hungry International are being supported to conduct cholera prevention activities in accommodation centres in all affected provinces using Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials such as portable flip charts and leaflets on cholera prevention. The sessions also cover issues such as the prevention of diarrhoea, malaria and conjunctivitis. Nutrition UNICEF is continuing to support the local health authorities and other partners in ongoing activities under the supplementary feeding programme in affected areas. The Ministry of Health is being supported to strengthen the health information management system for the emergency response, particularly the maintenance of matrices on children reached under the supplementary feeding programme. In Sofala province, to date, 3,396 children have been screened under the programme, of which 541 were found to be moderately malnourished (so far, 455 have received BP5- a type of compact food) and 4 were found to be severely malnourished (all of them have been referred to the appropriate services). In addition, 3,443 children have received deworming treatment and 1,224 have received Vitamin A supplements. UNICEF is supporting the local health authorities in the other affected provinces to compile consolidated information in a consistent format. UNICEF has been liaising with the provincial health authorities to ensure that nutrition technicians are sent to districts that are not yet covered, such as Chinde in Zambezia province, in order to conduct screening, supplementary feeding, monitoring and other activities. Education UNICEF is continuing to work with provincial and district education authorities and NGO partners to distribute education and recreation materials to schools affected by the floods in Sofala, Tete and Zambezia provinces in line with the agreed distribution plan. Save the Children Norway is covering Manica province. The education cluster partners are working with the provincial and district level education authorities to support schools and School Councils to ensure that vulnerable children, particularly girls and orphaned children, who are currently out of school can access education. Gender Units and School Council members have been mobilised to work with community leaders in the accommodation centres to encourage parents and care-givers to send their children, especially their daughters, to school. Protection In light of the initiation of the Government resettlement programme and in order to complement the work of the IFRC and the Mozambican Red Cross, UNICEF teams are working to identify the composition of basic packages of essential materials to be provided to populations that choose to move to resettlement centres, integrate into host communities or return to their areas of origin. Handicap International is working with the local authorities on the resettlement process to provide maps of known mine fields and to conduct mine risk education with potential resettlement communities. Throughout the emergency response, UNICEF has been supporting cross-cutting programme communication and community mobilisation activities. These activities (which have been reflected under each of the sectors above), have included:
Inter-Agency Collaboration and Key Partnerships The Mozambique Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Country Team has finalised the Humanitarian Response Plan to cover the medium term flood response and immediate cyclone response activities over the three-month period from March to May. The plan is intended to bridge the transition period between the Government Contingency Plan and the Government Recovery Plan. The plan is pending final approval and launch by OCHA. The current list of cluster leads and participants is provided below: Logistics Food Security Telecommunications Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Nutrition Health Education Protection Emergency Shelter Early Recovery
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