UN responds to flood crisis in southern Africa
In response to the heavy flooding that has devastated southern Africa, and particularly Mozambique, the United Nations and its agencies have joined forces to rescue the victims still trapped on hilltops or in trees and to provide emergency food, shelter and medical assistance to those made homeless......more
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| Residents of Xinazane carry their belongings across a swollen river at Palmeira, north of Maputo |
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
(FAO
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CALLS FOR URGENT RESPONSE TO MOZAMBIQUE DISASTER - (10 March
2000)
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 Displaced people in southern Mozambique |
Displaced people in southern Mozambique |
From UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been in contact with world leaders and potential donors – including the United States and Germany – in an effort to raise funds from the international community. He has also dispatched his humanitarian coordinator for the Mozambique emergency, Ross Mountain, to Pretoria for a meeting today that will bring together representatives from Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe to identify priority needs.
"I hope once the needs are further clarified, the international community will respond and that those with the capacity to give will give, and give generously," Mr. Annan said.
At a donor meeting in Geneva this week, governments pledged $13.5 million to UN agencies for relief operations.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has shuttled more than 1,200 tonnes of food to 50 key delivery points in Mozambique – the worst-affected country. It has also been able to rescue approximately 900 people per day using helicopters from South Africa and the United Kingdom. On 2 March, WFP began helicopter deliveries of high-energy biscuits to families stranded on rooftops.
UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, has delivered large quantities of medical supplies and oral rehydration sachets to Mozambique and Botswana, and is providing technical support for stabilizing water supplies, providing for proper sanitation, and preparing for possible outbreaks of cholera, malaria and other diseases.
In addition to addressing immediate health threats, UNICEF is concerned about the impact of the floods on the schooling of children -- even in areas that have not been directly hit by flood waters. Throughout the region, school buildings have been used
as makeshift shelter locations, disrupting education and extending the impact of the disaster to thousands of additional children and families.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), which asked for $1.5 million in the appeal – for tents, blankets, rubber boats and funds for logistical support – has allocated $100,000 of its own funds for coordination of international aid.
UNDP’s Emergency Response Division has also received $2.5 million from the Government of Italy for relief and development activities, and a joint mission from UNDP and the Italian government will visit the disaster areas next week to determine other priority needs.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched an urgent international appeal to help the more than 300,000 farmers affected by the floods in Mozambique. According to Jacques Diouf, FAO’s Director-General, a disaster such as the one in Mozambique would tax the resources of even the most advanced countries.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) responded immediately to the floods by organizing a 16 February airlift of emergency relief items from its warehouse in Pisa, Italy, to Mozambique, consisting of OCHA Italian and Norwegian goods, WFP high-protein biscuits and WHO emergency health kits, weighing a total of 37.4 tons and valued at US$ 285,423.
OCHA also flagged the need for assistance to victims of flooding in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Swaziland, and has fielded a disaster assessment team to work with authorities and UN agencies already on the ground.
For more information on the floods in Southern Africa, consult OCHA’s web site, ReliefWeb.