As
the Zambezi River begins to gradually recede, authorities and
humanitarian agencies are wary of impending food shortages and
disease outbreaks following the burst of Zambezi River banks
which caused flooding in the Namibian Caprivi flood plains.
The floods have so far displaced about 15 000 people, some of
whom are staying in temporary camps set up by the government
with the help of the Namibia Red Cross Society.
Namibia Red Cross society, with the support of the International
Federation of Red and Red Crescent societies, is targeting 3,000
most affected households in four relocation sites for six months.
Most of the affected communities have lost their crops and are
not expecting any harvest.
In a Regional Emergency Management Unit (REMU) meeting held
last Friday, there were serious indications that most of the
crops in the low lying areas such as Muyako in Katima rural
constituency in the Caprivi region wilted due to drought or
were flooded beyond redemption.
The majority of the people have lost their source of livelihood
including their livestock. This signals the beginning of another
bad chapter in the lives of the Caprivians as most of them were
just about to start ‘eating’ from their fields.
“We hope the water goes down soon so that we can go back
to our homes,” says Joyce Kamwe. “We are aware that
all our crops were destroyed but we can start fishing and raise
money to buy food for the family.”
But Joyce and many others may have to wait for another five
months before they can go back to their homes as the situation
along the Zambezi River is only expected to normalize around
August or September. The government is currently providing emergency
food aid to each family every two weeks.
In Katima rural communities, some people have complained of
diarrhoea and malaria cases according to REMU technical team
that visited the area. Caprivi region is general a high malaria
risk area.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent launched
an emergency appeal seeking USD 721,623 (€ 542,555) in
cash, kind, or services to assist 15,000 beneficiaries (3,000
families) for six months part of which is meant to provide 3,000
mosquito nets to children under five years and pregnant mothers.
“Due to limited resources we have been able to distribute
only over 250 mosquito nets to children under five years of
age and pregnant mothers,” says Tamuka Chitemere, the
International Federation disaster technical manager. “We
will monitor the situation while we continue with our relief
operations,” She adds.
Schuckmansburg, an island with usually about 85 families now
has 254 households who relocated from their flooding areas,
still remains a major challenge. The island is too small for
such a large population. Challenges include accessibility, access
to clean safe water and sanitation and health.
“Some people in Schuckmansburg are sleeping in the open
and we are planning to carry out water and sanitation, shelter,
hygiene promotion activities and distribution of non-food items,”
says Polly Helmut, the Red Cross manager in the Caprivi region.
“As soon as we get the means to access this area, the
Red Cross with the support of the government should be able
to start providing help to the affected people.” Services
have been provided only sporadically for the past four weeks
due to transport challenges.
The Caprivi floods did not receive adequate attention as it
happened at a time when Mozambique was also experiencing flooding
and cyclone disasters. But the Red Cross believes that the situation
in the Caprivi region is very serious and needs urgent attention.
“Having more than 15, 000 people displaced is a huge challenge
which requires urgent attention to ensure that the situation
is kept under control, but the Red Cross needs resources to
achieve that,” says Mrs. Razia Essack-Kauaria, the Secretary
General of Namibia Red Cross.
Though this is not the first time that Caprivi has experienced
flooding, this has come earlier than expected and there are
fears that with more rains to come, the situation may deteriorate
further compounding the food security and the health situation
in the camps.
Floods have increasingly become recurrent especially along the
main Zambezi river valley which stretches from the Angola to
Mozambique. The Meteorological departments have warned that
there could be more rains in March and April which may worsen
the situation. The Zambezi river is also causing widespread
flooding in Zambia and left some 300 000 people in need of urgent
assistance.
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As
the Zambezi River begins to gradually recede, authorities
and humanitarian agencies are wary of impending food shortages
and disease outbreaks following the burst of Zambezi River
banks which caused flooding in the Namibian Caprivi flood
plains. (p15580)
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In
a Regional Emergency Management Unit (REMU) meeting held
last Friday, there were serious indications that most
of the crops in the low lying areas such as Muyako in
Katima rural constituency in the Caprivi region wilted
due to drought or were flooded beyond redemption. (p15581)
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The Zambezi river is also causing widespread flooding
in Zambia and left some 300 000 people in need of urgent
assistance. (p15582)
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|
 |
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The
majority of the people have lost their source of livelihood
including their livestock. This signals the beginning
of another bad chapter in the lives of the Caprivians
as most of them were just about to start ‘eating’
from their fields. (p15583)
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News
