Mozambique humanitarian situation update, 20 February 2008
Major Developments Flood response As of 20 February, the levels of the major rivers in central Mozambique continue to decrease, however, the Zambeze, Pungue and Chire rivers remain above alert level in some areas. Low and moderate rainfall is forecast for 20-22 February over the central and northern provinces, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe; however heavy localised rainfall is forecast for southern Tete province and north Malawi on 20-21 February and in Zambia on 22 February. The total number of people relocated to resettlement centres across the five provinces affected by flooding now stands at 102,486. Of these, a total of 87,969 are in the Zambeze valley area. Discharges from the Cahora Bassa Dam have decreased to 2,400 cubic metres per second. Tropical Cyclone Ivan is now dissipating over Madagascar. However, as it enters the Mozambique Channel on 20 February as a Tropical Depression, there is a possibility that it could regain strength. Security in Southern Mozambique In light of recent security incidents, the Designated Official, (Resident Coordinator) has declared Security Phase 1, as a precautionary measure, for Maputo City and the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, and Inhambane. Phase 1 has been in effect since 18 February. UNICEF Response to the Zambeze Floods Management and coordination A registration exercise is currently being carried out of displaced people in flood-affected districts by specially trained INGC and CENOE staff members. With UNICEF support, teams of approximately 30 people, including previously trained staff and government representatives, are conducting the registration and data collection in all resettlement centres. A semi-independent unit of the INGC, led by a senior INGC staff member, has been installed in Mutarara to ensure improved coordination and action at District Level. A further unit is expected to be set up in Mopeia district over the coming days. Health and nutrition Additional cases of acute watery diarrhoea have been confirmed in the Inhangoma area of Mutarara, believed to be from displaced people returning to their former homes from transit centres near Mutarara town. A total of 35 cases have been admitted to the local health post and there have been two deaths, one a child. MSF-B has been supporting the local district health authorities to open a temporary CTC within the local health post. The cumulative number of cases of acute watery diarrhoea (from which samples were clinically diagnosed as cholera) in Mutarara district now stands at 700 as of 20 February with a total of 13 deaths, including five children. UNICEF is sending additional cholera materials and protective equipment to Mutarara and for pre-positioning in other districts. UNICEF is supporting local health authorities and communication partners, including theatre groups, Community Radio and mobile multimedia units to focus their efforts on social mobilisation around cholera prevention. A guideline for activists has been developed and additional IEC materials have been shared with partners to ensure increased awareness-raising in tandem with behaviour change activities. To date, over 16,000 families have received insecticide-treated mosquito nets in flood-affected areas and distribution to a further 25,000 families is on-going. UNICEF and partners continue to support District Health Authorities to conduct nutritional screening activities in resettlement centres in seven flood-affected districts. A total of approximately 5,800 children under-five have been screened, of which approximately 640 children were found to be moderately malnourished, and subsequently received food supplementation. A total of 64 children were reported as severely malnourished and were referred to district hospitals for therapeutic feeding. Water and sanitation WASH and Health Clusters at field level are working closely to ensure that the strategy for acceleration of construction of latrines and hygiene promotion in all resettlement and transit centres is being developed and implemented immediately. As a result, a total of 13,115 people living in resettlement centres have access to adequate sanitation through the construction of 2,623 family latrines while 16,160 people living in transit centres have been provided with 808 communal latrines. In Zambezia province the focus is on increasing water supply to resettlement centres. As a result, a technical team from the provincial water authorities has been deployed to carry out necessary repairs on water pumps and water systems in the province. Repairs have been completed in Maganja da Costa district and are on-going in Noere and Nzanza resettlement centres in Mopeia district. In addition, a water bladder of 15,000L has been installed in Muriwa resettlement centre. The system has been providing water since 17 February to the population in the nearby resettlement centres of Ambosio, Mizingo, Muto and Muriwa. Education The distribution of education materials to schools in resettlement centres continues and kits of learning, teaching and recreation materials are expected to reach all learners and teachers in the next two weeks. To date, a total of 40,000 learners’ kits, 400 teachers’ kits, 120 school kits have been distributed at school level by UNICEF and Education Cluster partners and 51 tents have been mounted. Distribution of education materials has commenced in Mutarara with the support of World Vision and Action Aid. UNICEF and the Education Cluster partners have developed a checklist on supplies distribution incorporating inputs received from Cluster members, which has been translated into Portuguese. Based on good practices from the field, the checklist is a guide to ensure that supplies are delivered in coordination with district authorities and community participation and accountability is ensured for the storage and usage of these materials. UNICEF and Cluster partners in the field are providing feedback on the infrastructure status of schools which is helping support advocacy efforts with the Ministry of Education at the national level on the need to prioritise school construction in flood affected areas. UNICEF is also working with the Ministry of Education to ensure the acceleration of distribution of text books to all schools. UNICEF and Cluster partners are reviewing how teachers who have been deployed to schools in resettlement areas can be supported, and a proposed list of materials required by teachers in such circumstances has been received from the Teacher’s Union. The Save the Children Alliance has procured 3,000 household kits which will be distributed by partners to teachers in their areas of coverage. Protection In coordination with government authorities, UNICEF will provide additional orientation training on protection of women and children for police officers who are being deployed to resettlement centres in affected areas. The training is being conducted prior to deployment and previously developed materials will be used to supplement the training. In addition to the two Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) that have been established by Cluster co-lead Save the Children Alliance with support from UNICEF in Zona Verde and 24 de Julho resettlement centres, preparation is on-going for the establishment of five more CFS in Noere, Bras, Muriua, Jamusee and Moleira resettlement centres in Mopeia district. The training for the CFS-site managers will take place later this week. UNICEF is providing recreational kits for each location. Logistics and telecommunications support The WASH, health and education supplies from OCHA / Brindisi (Italy) arrived by airplane in Beira on 19 February. The supplies have been off-loaded and are being transported to Caia for further distribution. Distribution of supplies continues on a regular basis using air, truck and boat transport. Currently three helicopters, six boats and nine trucks are in use. One of the nine boats has been temporarily allocated to Mopeia and Morrumbala districts to facilitate access to hard-to-reach resettlement centres along the Cuacua river for distribution of supplies. A VSAT ground station is currently being installed at the COE in Mopeia. The installation and equipment is being provided by Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF). Additional IT support continues to be provided by the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster to all four INGC Emergency Operations Centres in Mozambique. Inter-agency collaboration and key partnerships Efforts are on-going to further improve information management for the Humanitarian Country Team and the INGC. Tools on financial tracking and a database on the emergency response are under development. Although the tools will be used during the current emergency response, emphasis is also being placed on strengthening information management systems linked to capacity building efforts for improved data collection and analysis in future emergencies. For more information, please contact: Thierry Delvigne-Jean Lynda DeGuire Lisa Doherty Annelien Groten
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