Relief Food Assistance To Flood-Affected Population in Zambezia Province Project Summary
Food distributions will be undertaken to meet life-saving requirements for the first month (from mid-January to mid-February), through the provision of a complete individual ration composed of Maize Meal (400g/p/d), Corn Soy Blend (50g/p/d), pulses (60g/p/d), and vegetable oil (25g/p/d) to an estimated 50,000 people in order to meet life-saving and sustaining food requirements.

Total project budget: US$10,200,000
Total funds received to date: US$0
Amount requested from the CERF: US$864,457

Recommendation:  The CERF Programme Section believes the project adheres to the CERF Life-Saving Criteria and recommends it for funding.


Application Summary
On 8 January 2015, following heavy rains, the Mozambique National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) activated a nation-wide institutional orange alert for floods. The floods isolated entire districts and communities and cut off many communication routes. Rivers surpassed alert levels and impassable bridges have effectively cut off the north of the country from the south. An estimated 14,950 houses have been destroyed.  57 accommodation centres have been established to provide shelter for the more than 50,000 people who have been displaced. Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and partners, floods have destroyed 52,052 hectares of crops, affecting 36,939 households nationally. These figures are expected to increase as assessments continue.

Preliminary  assessments have identified some humanitarian needs. The national Insitute for Disaster management (INGC) is playing a elading role.  It estimates that it will need about US$ 8 million to address the immediate needs of the affected people in terms of food, shelter, WASH, health, family kits including logistics for the initial 30 days of the response.  This requirement is over and beyond the government’s  current expenditure of  US$ 1 million per week which is spent on distrusting food and medicine.  More than half of this weekly expenditure has gone towards air transport as the areas are inaccessible by other means. This CERF response focuses on critical gaps jointly identified by the Government and the HCT.  Current relief stocks indicate that there is a huge gap in food and non-food items to address the current humanitarian assistance in Zambezia Province. There is an urgent need to feed and provide shelter to the 50,000 affected people that are hosted in accommodation centers (most of which are schools, which need to resume by 06 February 2015). There is also the urgent need to provide emergency water supply, emergency sanitation and emergency hygiene promotion, thus providing minimum safe conditions for reducing the risk to public health by water and sanitation-related diseases.  The CERF response will include and immediate response focusing on an initial response to the most affected (50,000 IDPs):

1) Logistics Cluster (WFp) intends to provide rapid response to cover the main operational gaps such as storage capacity and aerial and surface transport (road and river) to make sure that the relief assistance reaches the affected population.
2) The WASH Cluster (UNICEF) will give priority to the 50,000 displaced people to ensure the provision of safe water supply, basic sanitation and hygiene promotion in the accommodation centers/resettlement areas,
3) The Food Security Cluster (FAO, WFP) which includes agriculture will provide immediate food assistance for at least one month to the 50,000 displaced people.
4) Under the Shelter Cluster (IOM) will work in partnership with the Mozambican Red Cross (CVM) and  Concern Worldwide, to provide temporary shelter NFIs to support IDPs currently residing in temporary/transit points throughout Zambezia Province.
5) The protection sector (UNICEF) will implement three activities: the identification of unaccompanied minors and efforts towards family reunification; prevention and response to violence and abuse (including gender-based violence); and immediate psycho-social support to displaced families and children.