Zambia

Funding appeals and donor updates

In the last few months, the “El Nino” phenomenon, blamed for severe flooding that affected much of the Horn in late 2006, has extended its impact across Southern Africa. Resultant flooding has coincided with the cyclone season (December-April) in which, thus far, Madagascar and Mozambique have been seriously affected while riverine communities in Zambia have experienced localized displacement. Significant damage to infrastructure has been assessed, especially in Mozambique including schools, health facilities, roads and food stores. Both the cyclone and rainy seasons are projected to extend into April, entailing further possible hardship for children and families in South-Eastern Africa.
An almost unprecedented number of countries in the region are now also reporting acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) or cholera cases, several of which have been in sustained crisis for many months. UNICEF offices in South-Eastern Africa are now responding to meet the acute humanitarian needs that both exacerbate chronic vulnerabilities and complicate efforts towards the broader progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
East and Southern Africa Donor Update 30 Mar 2007 [pdf]

Zambia is one of the countries most affected by drought in Southern Africa and flooding is an uncommon occurrence in the country. However, the combination of late-arriving seasonal rainfall and early drought in October and November of 2006 combined with a period of intense rainfall in December 2006 and January and February of 2007 has wreaked an unusual level of destruction in several parts of Zambia. The result has been disastrous, and flooding has overtaken many parts of the country. At the time of writing, data is still coming in, but it is increasingly evident that hundreds of thousands of people may have been displaced, their homes damaged or washed away. In addition, significant infrastructure has been damaged, including not only roads and bridges, but also latrines and water sources, schools, and health posts. Perhaps even more alarming, food crops – many of which were planted late because of the late on-set of the rains – have been submerged. This may cause a significant food shortage later in the year.
UNICEF is therefore calling for assistance of US$ 1,741,915 to meet the immediate emergency needs of 140,000 severely affected people.

Zambia Immediate Needs 6 Mar 2007 [pdf]