By Madalitso Mwando

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AlertNet) - Thumeliso Matshobana knows what the devastation of too much water looks like.

A smallholder farmer in Zimbabwe’s Midlands, he watched helplessly last year as floods destroyed crops, livestock, homes and schools. The heavy rains, he says, came as “a total surprise.”

The floods left a trail of destruction in traditionally dry and impoverished rural areas of the Midlands and Matebeleland, and rebuilding has been a slow and painful process.

A 2-day workshop for camp management trainers working for the Namibian Government and the Namibian Red Cross will open tomorrow (19/9) in Windhoek.

The European Union funded workshop, co-organized by IOM and the Namibian Directorate of Disaster Risk Management, aims to provide Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) training to support seven disaster-prone regions - Caprivi, Kavango, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto - in the north and north-east of the country.

This report covers the period January to December 2011

In brief

Programme outcome
To increase the capacity of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and the impact of disasters through the timely and adequate financial support for disaster response from the DREF.

Final report

Emergency appeal n° MDRNA006

GLIDE n° FL- 2011- 000007-NAM

30 April 2012

Period covered by this Final Report: 8 April 2011 - 31 December 2011

Appeal target (current): CHF 1,811,530

Appeal coverage: 39%;

Summary:

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Dry spell affects crop conditions in coastal regions, but average rains received in central provinces

• Import requirements, mainly wheat and rice, estimated at a higher level in 2011/12 marketing year (April/March), as a result of the smaller cereal harvest gathered in 2011

Dry spell impacts coastal regions

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· Between February 26 and March 4, Tropical Storm Irina brought intense rains and winds to areas of Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa. According to preliminary reports, the storm caused an estimated 72 deaths and affected nearly 78,000 people in Madagascar and resulted in 12 deaths in Mozambique and South Africa.

Highlights

Funding Situation

The CERF raised a record amount of US$465 million through the contributions of Member States, Observers, regional governments and the private sector. 2011 marks only the second time in the history of the Fund that it exceeded the $450 million target established for it by the General Assembly.

Additionally, $46.4 million was transferred from the CERF loan window to the grant window with the reduction of the loan element by the General Assembly.

JOHANNESBURG, 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:

Summary:
CHF 236,780 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) in January 2011 to support the South Africa Red Cross Society (SARCS) in delivering immediate assistance to 1,174 households (8,870 beneficiaries) in 4 priority provinces of Free State, Limpopo,North West and Northern Cape Floods that left a trail of destruction in 32 municipalities across the country in January 2011