Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall during the night of 14th to 15th March 2019 near Beira City, Sofala Province, in central Mozambique. The cyclone brought torrential rains and winds to Sofala, Zambezia, Manica and Inhambane provinces. The cyclone killed more than 400 people and left almost 2 million people without a home in Mozambique.
In Nhamatanda district 50.000 families (260.000 people) were seriously damaged, while 113.525 hectares of rural land and 230.000 tons of crops were lost to the cyclone.
In the aftermath of the disaster Cesvi, who worked in the country since 2000 to promote food security and sustainable rural development, coordinated Alliance2015 aid intervention to provide lifesaving support to the population thorough distributions of:
- food kits provided by WFP to 5.000 families;
- shelter kits provided by Concern and WHH to 5.000 families who received blankets, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, rope, rubhall tent and sleeping mats;
- seeds provided by FAO to 5.000 families who received maize, beans, vegetables (tomato, onion, cabbage, okra) and tools like a machete and a hoe so that they could start restoring the agricultural production for the sussistance in the following months ;
- hygiene kits provided by Unicef to 5.000 families, containing a bucket with lid (20 litres), a soap bar (1kg), toothbrushes and toothpaste for adults and children, a torch with batteries , water treatment product for 2 months and hygienic pads for women.
The results achieved by Cesvi, Concern and Welthungerhilfe gained further trust from the United Nations, which asked the partners to coordinate another distribution of seeds for 3.500 families living in a remote area, not yet reached by humanitarian aid.
Photo: Gavin Douglas/ Concern Worldwide
The initial intervention targeted 8.500 families in the district of Nhamatanda.
After the initial focused on the provision of immediate support to the flood affected population through restoring lost asset, the Alliance strategy, under the Cesvi leadership will be now strengthened with ECHO support towards durable solutions focused activities to protect the most vulnerable HHs with shelter and wash assistance, implemented through cash/voucher interventions and through community WASH activities in order to prevent the spread of diseases due to the disruption of basic life-saving services. The shelter and wash assistance will be provided through a combination of households voucher to 5,000 families in immediate need and community WASH working, such as rehabilitation of water sources disrupted and community hygiene coverage, in order to increase the knowledge and behaviors of the population (hygiene) post the shock of the cyclone. Shelter voucher will be provided as one-off intervention while hygiene items (consumables) will be likely combined with monthly short cycles food assistance provided by the implementing partner of WFP in the area.
The network itself granted partners with the possibility to use part of the Emergency Funds of Alliance2015 to cover for logistics costs.
