DHAGVA - 95/0510
1. ACCORDING TO DHA/UNDP
RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE, THE INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT MISSION
(UNDP/DHA, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, HCR, WFP) WAS COMPLETED, AND ITS
FINDINGS ARE BEING FINALIZED IN THE
FORM OF AN APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE. THE MAIN
FINDINGS ADDRESS THE CAUSES OF THE FLOODING, THE
PRESENT SITUATION IN THE DISTRICTS AFFECTED, AND THE SHORT/MEDIUM
NEEDS IN SEVERAL AREAS OF ACTIVITY.
2. THE FLOODING OCCURRED WHEN BENIN'S TWO MAIN RIVERS, OUEME AND MONO OVERFLOWED THEIR BANKS IN JULY AND AUGUST 1995 RESPECTIVELY. WHILE THE FLOODING THE OUEME RIVER WAS DUE TO EXCEPTIONAL RAINFALL IN THE NORTHERN DIVISIONS OF BORGOU AND ATACORA, THE FLOODING IN THE LOWER MONO VALLEY WAS DUE, IN PART, TO EXCESS WATER RELEASED FROM THE NANGBETO DAM, SITUATED WITHIN TOGO AND JOINTLY MANAGED BY BENIN AND TOGO.
3. IN SPITE OF FLOODING IN THIS REGION OF BENIN BEING ALMOST CYCLICAL, OCCURRING WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SERIOUSNESS EVERY TWO OR THREE YEARS, THIS YEAR'S FLOODING HAD EXTREMELY DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES, WHICH WERE FURTHER AGGRAVATED BY THE FACT THAT THEY OCCURRED EARLIER THAN EXPECTED, AND LASTED LONGER THAN THE AVERAGE DURATION OF THE CYCLICAL FLOODS (OVER SIX WEEKS INSTEAD OF AN AVERAGE OF 2 TO 3 WEEKS).
4. IN ALL, 86,000 PEOPLE, OF WHOM ABOUT 65% ARE WOMEN AND CHILDREN, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY AFFECTED IN FOUR OF BENIN'S SIX DIVISIONS IN THE LOWER BASINS OF THE OUEME AND MONO RIVERS. TEN DEATHS HAVE SO FAR BEEN REPORTED.
5. THE AREAS OF ACTIVITY WHICH REQUIRE FURTHER EMERGENCY AND SHORT/MEDIUM TERM SUPPORT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
HEALTH
A MAJOR RISK OF EPIDEMICS REMAINS, EVEN AFTER THE FLOOD WATERS RECEDE AND AMONG THE HEALTH-RELATED PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED ARE A SHARP DETERIORATION IN THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF THE AFFECTED POPULATION AND IN PARTICULAR THE HIGH RISK GROUPS (WOMEN, NURSING MOTHERS, PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN). THE TOTAL NEEDS IDENTIFIED IN THE HEALTH SECTOR ARE ESTIMATED AT USD 81,000.
RURAL FEEDER ROADS
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE HAS BEEN CAUSED TO VITAL FEEDER ROADS IN ALL FOUR DIVISIONS. 32 KM OF RURAL FEEDER ROADS, MAINLY IN MONO AND ZOU DIVISIONS NEED TO BE URGENTLY RECONSTRUCTED ONCE THE FLOOD WATER RECEDE. THESE ROADS ARE EXTREMELY VITAL FOR THE RURAL ECONOMICS IN THIS DIVISIONS, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THEY LINK UP THE FLOODED VILLAGES WITH THE CITIES TO WHICH LOCAL PRODUCE IS NORMALLY EVACUATED FOR MARKETING. THEY ALSO PROVIDE ACCESS TO VITAL HEALTH FACILITIES.
EDUCATION/SCHOOLING
IN THE FOUR DIVISIONS CONCERNED 41 SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY AFFECTED, INVOLVING THE COLLAPSE OF 92 CLASSROOMS, AND SEVERE DAMAGE OF 26 OTHERS. IN ALL, SOME 5438 PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS ARE IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE, LIKE BASIC SCHOOLING MATERIALS. TOTAL ASSISTANCE SOUGHT, INCLUDING CLASSROOMS REPAIRS/RECONSTRUCTION AND THE PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL MATERIALS, IS ESTIMATED AT USD 1,032,000.
SHELTER/CLOTHING
THE INTER-AGENCY MISSION REPORTED THAT SOME 1,800 WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN THE FOUR AFFECTED DIVISIONS, OF WHICH 1,500 WERE IN THE MONO DIVISION. EMERGENCY NEEDS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE AREA OF SHELTER (INCLUDING IMPORTANT QUANTITIES OF MOSQUITO NETS) AND CLOTHING FOR SOME 15,000 FAMILIES (85,000 PEOPLE), AND ARE EXPECTED TO COST ABOUT USD 402,000.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
APPROXIMATELY 10,000 HECTARES OF FARMLAND WERE DESTROYED, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF ENTIRE HARVEST OF THE MAJOR CROPS GROWN IN THE FLOODED REGIONS. VAST POPULATIONS OF SMALL RUMINANTS THAT SERVE AS VITAL SOURCE OF ANIMAL PROTEIN ALSO DISAPPEARED WITH THE FLOODING. TOTAL NEEDS IN THE AREA OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ARE ESTIMATED AT USD 1,063,000.
COORDINATION/LOGISTICS
THE NATIONAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COORDINATION OF THE ASSISTANCE OPERATION, SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISIONAL COMMITTEES WHICH COMPRISE RELEVANT GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNER REPRESENTATIVES. IN ORDER TO FACILITATE MONITORING OF THE APPEAL TO BE LAUNCHED AND THE FLOW OF INFORMATION, A MONITORING UNIT IS BEING SET UP, PRESIDED BY THE GOVT, WITH UNDP AS SECRETARY, AND COMPOSED BY 6 MEMBERS (TWO FROM THE GOVT, TWO FROM THE UN SYSTEM, AND TWO FROM NGOS).
AS PART OF THE COORDINATION MECHANISM, TWO NATIONALS EXPERTS IN LOGISTICS/EMERGENCY OPERATIONS, WILL BE POSTED TO THE TWO MOST AFFECTED DIVISIONS, NAMELY MONO AND ZOU. THE COORDINATION STRUCTURE, INCLUDING LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO FIELD OPERATIONS IS ESTIMATED AT USD 77,000 OVER A PERIOD OF 8 TO 12 MONTHS.
5. ON THE BASIS OF THE FINDINGS OF THE INTER-AGENCY ASSESSMENT MISSION THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF RESOURCES REQUIRED IS ESTIMATED AT APPROXIMATELY USD 3,100 MILLION.
| AREAS OF ACTIVITY | ESTIMATION (USD) |
| HEALTH | 81,000 |
| RURAL ROADS | 460,000 |
| EDUCATION/SCHOOLING | 1,032,000 |
| SHELTER/CLOTHING | 402,000 |
| FOOD AND AGRICULTURE | 1,063,000 |
| COORDINATION/LOGISTICS | 77,000 |
| TOTAL | 3,115,000 |
6. CONTRIBUTIONS REPORTED TO DHA
| UN SYSTEM | USD | |
| DHA | EMERGENCY CASH GRANT | 30,000 |
| GOVERNMENTS | ||
| NORWAY | CASH GRANT-RELIEF OPERATIONS (THROUGH DHA) | 50,000 |
| NGO'S | ||
| NIPPON FOUNDATION | CASH GRANT-RELIEF OPERATIONS (THROUGH DHA) | 20,000 |
7. DHA IS PREPARED TO SERVE AS CHANNEL FOR CASH CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE USED DURING IMMEDIATE RELIEF PHASE. FUNDS ARE SPENT IN COORDINATION WITH RELEVANT ORGANIZATIONS OF U.N. SYSTEM, AND DHA PROVIDES DONOR GOVERNMENTS WITH WRITTEN CONFIRMATION ON UTILIZATION OF FUNDS CONTRIBUTED.
8. FUNDS SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO DHA ACCOUNT NO. C0-590.160.1 AT SWISS BANK CORPORATION, CASE POSTALE 2770, CH-1211 GENEVA 2, WITH REFERENCE BENIN-FLOODS, DHA-GENEVA.
9. FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES, DONORS ARE REQUESTED TO INFORM DHA-GENEVA, AS INDICATED BELOW, OF BILATERAL RELIEF MISSIONS/PLEDGES/CONTRIBUTIONS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING VALUE BY ITEM.
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