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In Brief
Appeal No. 09/2004; Final Report; Period covered: April to June 2004; Final appeal coverage: 76.6%.
Appeal history
- Launched on 01 April 2004 for
CHF 797,000 (USD 629,201 or EUR 511,688) for five months to assist 50,000
beneficiaries.
- Operations Update no. 2 revised the budget to CHF 846,000 and reduced
beneficiaries to 20,000.
- One Information Bulletin was launched prior to the Emergency Appeal.
Two Operations Updates were issued specific to the Appeal.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 60,000 (reimbursed).
Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: Namibia 2005 Annual Appeal no. 05AA013
Background and Summary
The Caprivi region has been affected by frequent and severe droughts for the last three years, compromising the already food insecurity situation in the region. The Caprivi region borders Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Kabbe and Katima rural constituencies are some of the six constituencies in the Caprivi region which are prone to disasters such as drought and floods. The over 81,000 inhabitants of the region are faced with severe food shortages leading the government to undertake emergency food distributions in the region. The HIV/AIDS prevalence of 43% in the region is the highest in the country. The combination of droughts, floods and HIV/AIDS pandemic adds to the high level of vulnerabilities amongst the inhabitants of the region. The livelihood in Caprivi depends on livestock, fishing and small-scale subsistence farming.
The Namibia Red Cross is managing a comprehensive health programme covering home-based care (HBC) and supporting activities at the voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) instituted by the government targeting urban and rural population in Caprivi region.
In late March 2004, the Zambezi River rose above seven metres bursting its banks which led to the devastating floods in the Caprivi region. This caused substantial damage to property, destroyed crops, polluted water sources and threatened the livelihoods of an estimated 20,000 people in Kabbe and Katima rural constituencies.
Some 5,000 people affected by the floods were evacuated and relocated to safer areas. In the aftermath of the floods, some of the livestock drowned and crops washed away leaving the affected people food insecure. Some CHF 60,000 was allocated from the International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Namibia Red Cross to conduct assessments and immediate relief activities. The Federation regional delegation responded by sending a regional disaster response team (RDRT) which operated on the ground from 29 March until 30 April 2004. The government in collaboration with traditional leaders identified suitable land in four areas of Kabbe constituency namely; Schuckmansburg, Impalila Island, Kabbe and Lusese where evacuated people were relocated.
Between March and August 2004, Namibia Red Cross supported by the Federation and in collaboration with the government provided relief to approximately 5,000 relocated people through the provision of shelter, safe water, sanitation facilities, malaria prevention and health education, while the government provided food relief, curative health and transportation. Relief assistance was also extended to some of the 15,000 affected people.
Operational developments
After over a month in Caprivi, the RDRT handed over the relief operation to Namibia Red Cross with effect from the first of May. The operation continued for another four months to ensure that the relocated people continue receiving necessary support. The national society's disaster officer and the regional manager in Caprivi remained responsible for the management and coordination of the relief operation.
At the onset of the emergency, Namibia Red Cross and the Federation regional delegation in Harare urgently dispatched relief items to the affected area which enabled immediate response to the needs of the floods victims. The national society dispatched some 107 tents, 50 jerry cans and 52 mosquito nets from the national society's warehouse in Windhoek, which were allocated to people and schools. The early arrival of relief items was invaluable as this enabled immediate response to shelter, clean water, sanitation and health needs. The national society then continued distributing non-food items such as blankets, jerry cans, tarpaulins, water purification sachets and soap to beneficiaries at the four relocation camps and in some parts of the affected areas. The households in the Kabbe and Katima rural constituencies who were not relocated were provided with water purification sachets, food relief and health care services.
Based on the RDRT assessment report an operational plan of action was drawn up and several activities undertaken to provide non-food relief items to 20,000 affected including more than 5,000 relocated people. The Namibia Red Cross operation team requested the assistance of the Federation warehouse officer for capacity building on logistic. The regional reporting and information officers were on the ground gathering information for operational updates.
The Namibia Red Cross operation team requested the assistance of the Federation warehouse officer for capacity building on logistic. The regional logistic officer was on the ground from 19 May and spent four weeks working with the team. Every effort was made to reduce the delays between the delivery of relief supplies and distribution to the beneficiaries. Well-defined accounting and storage system was put in place to account for all relief supplies received and distributed to beneficiaries for the efficiency and smooth running of the operation. The capacity of the Caprivi operations team was developed in maintaining and following warehouse standard practices and record keeping to full audit trail standards. The team was also strengthened in producing regular, timely accurate narrative and quantitative reports for the Namibia Red Cross headquarters, Federation and donors.
For further information please contact:
In Namibia: Razia Essack-Kauaria, Secretary General, Namibia Red Cross, Windhoek, Email secgen@redcross.org.na; Phone 264.61.235.216; Fax 264.61.228.949
In Zimbabwe: Françoise Le Goff, Federation Head of Southern Africa Regional Delegation, Harare; Email ifrczw02@ifrc.org; Phone 263.4.70.61.55 or 263.4.70.61.56; Fax 263.4.70.87.87
In Geneva: Terry Carney, Federation Regional Officer for Southern Africa, Africa Dept.; Email terry.carney@ifrc.org; Phone 41.22.730.42.98; Fax 41.22.733.03.95
For longer-term programmes, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal referenced above.
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org.
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