Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique on March 14, killing more than 840 people, injuring more than 1,500, and leaving nearly two million in need of humanitarian assistance. One month later and the waters have started to recede, but Mozambicans continue to face exceptional challenges.

Cholera epidemic

As of April 10, more than 4,979 cases of cholera have been reported. To help minimize the risk of spreading, Humanity & Inclusion will distribute hygiene kits, which include basic items such as hand and laundry soaps, to 8,000 families. 

Food crisis

During the storm, torrential rains submerged nearly two million acres of fields just weeks before harvest season. Now, more than a million people are facing imminent food shortages. In response, Humanity & Inclusion will distribute World Food Program (WFP) stocks of essential food such as rice, vegetable oil, and beans to 12,000 families over the next three months.

Improving humanitarian access

Emergency logistics colleagues are reinforcing capacity and working to open access points to rural areas shut off from humanitarian aid. For example, our team is coordinating debris removal from roads in the Mahavana area, which has received little to no support with clearance since the cyclone.

Supporting the most vulnerable

Humanity & Inclusion has 40 staff in the country, with a growing team in Beira. Our staff members are extremely concerned for the welfare of people–especially those with disabilities, older people, and vulnerable individuals–who have not yet been reached. Read our latest update.

Help ensure aid reaches people with disabilities, injuries, and vulnerable victims of this disaster.

Cyclone Idai Emergency

MANDATE

Humanity & Inclusion is working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. Currently, 37 national staff and three expatriate staff work in Mozambique.

BACKGROUND

Since 1986, Humanity & Inclusion has worked in Mozambique responding to issues resulting from the country’s 25-year long civil war. Since peace agreements were signed in 1992, Mozambique has embarked on a series of political, economic, and administrative reforms. The country is recovering rapidly thanks to economic growth, backed by the international community and private investment. However, the biggest threat to stable growth is the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS, poor sanitary conditions, and a very low standard of education. 

ACTIONS

• Inclusive Education
• Social Inclusion

Inclusive Education

Humanity & Inclusion provides quality inclusive education for girls and boys with disabilities in targeted peri-urban areas of Maputo and Matola. Our team will enhance the quality of teaching in inclusive education by conducting a needs assessment of teachers’ skills, attitudes, and practices and by identifying the gaps in the Ministry of Education’s current inclusive education curriculum. The project will then enhance this curriculum by producing additional trial modules on inclusive education, and by providing training and technical support to the teaching staff of the 12 pilot primary schools. We will also set up a peer educators’ system with people with disabilities to foster community engagement to improve parent/schools links and to encourage enrollment and retention of children with disabilities and special learning needs in schools. Furthermore, Humanity & Inclusion will support the development and application of an Inclusive Education National Action Plan.

Social Inclusion 

Humanity & Inclusion improves access to social and health services for people with disabilities in extremely poor peri-urban areas through supporting and training local service providers. The organization also oversees an information, guidance and social support system managed by Disable People's Organizations (DPOs), who also facilitates access to these services.  

Humanity & Inclusion's previous work in Mozambique has included:

Mine Clearance

For nearly ten years, teams of Humanity & Inclusion deminers and specially trained dogs were used to clear landmines. This program ended as the country declared itself mine-free in September 2015. From the start of demining operations in 1998, Humanity & Inclusion was a key mine actor in Mozambique. Over a period of 17 years, the organization demined more than 16 million square meters of land, and neutralized 6,000 anti-personnel mines and 5,000 explosive remnants of war using a demining process combining people, dogs, and machines.

Victim Assistance

Improving the quality of life for survivors of mine accidents and their families has been a major goal of Humanity & Inclusion . By performing a mine survivor needs assessment and promoting a victim aid plan, Humanity & Inclusion has assisted more than 14 districts throughout the provinces Maputo, Inhambane and Sofala, eight NGOs, and various service providers in reducing the poverty of victims and improving their quality of life. Humanity & Inclusion is currently helping stakeholders craft a national action plan to address the ongoing needs of mine survivors. The organization also conducts training for people with disabilities to help them access social services and effectively seek jobs. 

Support for Disabled People's Organizations

Humanity & Inclusion teams have improved the effectiveness of two social support centers by teaching members how to apply for funding and implement specific projects. Teams focused on providing mobility aids and various social services, improving facility accessibility, and raising awareness to develop a more equitable, open-minded society over all. Humanity & Inclusion continues to work with and empower disabled persons organizations in its projects in Mozambique. 

Literacy

Humanity & Inclusion promoted literacy among people with disabilities by creating inclusive adult reading centers and supporting the “literacy for everyone” campaign on the local and national levels. More than 140,000 people and 200 professional educators benefited from these efforts.

Advocacy through the arts

To promote social participation of people with disabilities in Mozambique, Humanity & Inclusion curated an annual, multidisciplinary show (dance, music, theater) with a company including people with disabilities, non-professional and professional artists, from different origins.

On June 24, 2014, a dance and musical show was organized to teach the importance of fully including people with disabilities in society. The audience included delegates from States Parties to the Ottawa Treaty (Mine Ban Treaty) that were attending the Third Review Conference in Maputo.

Watch the 2014 "Inclurate" performance here.

Resilience and Social Protection

Humanity & Inclusion works to strengthen the skills of two information, orientation, and social support centers (SIOAS). These SIOAS identify the most vulnerable people, advise them, give them personalized support and refer the beneficiaries to social and health centers established by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, and Disabled People’s Organizations. These SIOAS facilitate access for disabled people to social protection mechanisms. Humanity & Inclusion provides technical support and establishes an acquisition and mobility aids distribution system, to host vulnerable people and to establish other SIOAS in the country.

City destroyed and 140,000 displaced

Flash floods and mudslides caused by Cyclone Idai have destroyed 90% of Beira, a coastal city in Mozambique. Humanity & Inclusion is on the ground, helping survivors.

You can ensure emergency teams and supplies reach the most vulnerable.

Your gift will provide critical aid like:

• direct food assistance, including nutritional treatment for malnourished children;
• clean water, sanitation, and hygiene treatment to combat the spread of cholera;
• shelter and basic needs kits (kitchen essentials, hygiene products, and farming tools); and
• protection to the most vulnerable

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Humanity & Inclusion has worked in Mozambique since 1986. We are co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for our work to ban landmines, the 1996 Nansen Prize for our work with refugees, and the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world’s largest humanitarian prize, for our work in Haiti after the earthquake.

*Any funds raised beyond the needs of our emergency response in Mozambique will be used to support other vital programs in the country and around the world.

Photo: Two young boys carry a piece of cardboard over their heads in Beira. © C. Briade / HI

As Claude Briade, a communications officer with Humanity & Inclusion, flew into Beira last week, he could see the scale of destruction that awaited him on the ground. Vast stretches of land covered in water, hundreds of thousands of destroyed rooftops, damaged buildings, and debris scattered every which way. Astonished by the brutal damage caused by Cyclone Idai, Claude gives a first-hand report using his own images.

People with disabilities face exceptional challenges in recovery

The vulnerable survivors face great challenges.

People with disabilities struggle to access aid and information.

Older people get tired of waiting in long lines for humanitarian aid. 

Pregnant women and families with young children have lost their homes.

Humanity & Inclusion is working to ensure that these individuals are included and that they receive the specialized support they need to recover from the disaster. 

Improving humanitarian access

During my first few days in the country, I accompanied Humanity & Inclusion's logistics experts as they evaluated ways to improve delivery of aid: clearing debris, finding new routes to isolated areas, coordinating transporters, etc. The context was exceptionally complicated with expanses of flood water cutting off all roads to some areas. Thanks to combined humanitarian efforts, it is improving rapidly.

Community resilience

As I traveled to various sites across the affected region, I have been struck by the survivors I have met and their resilience. The local population immediately set to work, rescuing, rebuilding, and supporting each other. Here, Humanity & Inclusion's logistics coordinator Fabrice Francois Renoux gathers information in Estaquinha, Mozambique from a local resident. 

Responding the needs of the most vulnerable

Humanity & Inclusion continues to seek funding in order to provide specific support for the most vulnerable Mozambicans in the days and weeks to come. Our current response consists of clearing debris in Beira city, improving access to the Sofala province (population 110,000), and providing food distributions to more than 11,000 households over the next three months. 

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986, and is best known there for our work helping victims of landmines and other explosive ordnance left from the country’s civil war. We ran a large demining operation that wrapped up when the country declared itself mine free in 2015. Most recently, staff worked to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Nearly 2 million people in need

Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique on March 14, killing at least 416 people, injuring more than 1,500, and leaving an estimated 1.85 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Providing food relief

Humanity & Inclusion will distribute World Food Program (WFP) stocks of essential food such as rice, vegetable oil, and beans to 12,000 families. This will provide some relief in the coming weeks as people try to rebuild their lives under very difficult circumstances. The WFP estimates that providing essential food to survivors will cost $150 million over the next three months.

Flood waters increase risk of disease

“The risk of communicable diseases has dramatically increased due to stagnant flood water as well as over-crowding in the collective accommodation center, where more than 110,000 displaced people are now staying,” explains Fanny Mraz, Humanity & Inclusion’s emergency director. “There are serious concerns regarding the risk of malaria and cholera outbreaks.”

To help minimize this risk, Humanity & Inclusion will distribute hygiene kits, which include basic items such as hand and laundry soaps, to 8,000 families.

Crops ruined due to flooding

The cyclone caused flooding on a colossal scale. 1.2 million acres of crops have been destroyed. The impact will be felt immediately as the majority of crops were near ready for harvest.

Water levels are thankfully now lower, but an estimated 1160 sq. miles of land remains submerged.

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986, and is best known there for our work helping victims of landmines and other explosive ordnance left from the country’s civil war. We ran a large demining operation that wrapped up when the country declared itself mine free in 2015. Most recently, staff worked to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: Mozambicans walk among flooded fields.

“This is a major humanitarian disaster”

“There are at least 145,000 displaced people in the city of Beira alone, which has a population of more than 500,000,” explains Marco Tamburro, Humanity & Inclusion’s program director in Mozambique. “We’re unsure of the final death toll because we don’t yet know what the situation is like in isolated areas. But it’s likely to rise.”

Preventing waterborne illnesses

Floods, dirty water, and poor hygiene poses a new threat to people already hit hard by the disaster. “Cases of cholera have already been reported in the city of Beira," Marco adds. “Floods make this type of disease more likely. So, we plan to distribute hygiene kits, which should provide more than 6,000 families with a healthier living environment.” 

Tomorrow, Humanity & Inclusion’s teams in France will also send out mobility aids including crutches, wheelchairs, and walkers, along with generators and a logistics kit, to equip a temporary office in the disaster area.

Coordinating logistics

The city of Beira still bears the scars of the cyclone. Although several roads have been reopened, they remain lined with debris from trees and roofs. “During the first few days, it was very difficult to get to people due to the floods. The situation has improved somewhat over the past three days, and we’re coordinating our actions with other organizations to make sure distributions get through."

Jérôme Rigard, Humanity & Inclusions logistics manager, explains what our team is doing to ensure these individuals receive access as soon as possible.

Providing food aid and peace of mind to 10,000+

Our team will also provide food aid to more than 10,000 families. "The shock suffered by disaster victims has to be taken into consideration. The whole city of Beira was affected. The people who lived through the cyclone and lost everything are deeply traumatized. We first need to provide psychological assistance to make sure they feel they have someone who can listen to them.”

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986. Currently, our teams are working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: A fallen tree and other damage in Beira, Mozambique, following Cyclone Idai.

Thousands still under water

Ten days after the cyclone hit, at least 770 square miles of land remains under water. More than 150 miles of roads are reportedly still partially flooded, including one linking the port of Beira to Zimbabwe. Beira is the country's second largest port. Most goods supplied to neighboring countries usually pass through it. These countries have also been hit by the cyclone. “Access ways to the port need to be repaired as soon as possible," says Fabrice Renoux, a project manager with Humanity & Inclusion’s Atlas Logistique division, sent to beef up HI’s team in Beira." The airport is open again but it’s not enough to supply humanitarian aid."

Clearing access points to deliver humanitarian assistance

Humanity & Inclusion’s team plans to introduce clearance measures in Beira in order to open up access ways. We'll do this by coordinating the work of clearance teams and trucks which will make it possible to deliver humanitarian assistance to people made vulnerable by the disaster. "But it is also essential to clear secondary roads in order to help people in rural areas, and we’re looking into other modes of transport, such as barges, to deliver humanitarian assistance for aid organizations to still-flooded areas.”

On Saturday, the Mozambican authorities announced that the death toll had topped 400, with 1,500 people injured. This number is likely to rise as receding flood waters open up currently isolated areas. Crop destruction also poses a threat to the local population, which is no longer able to meet its basic needs. The risk of epidemics increases by the day due to poor hygiene and stagnant water.

Communication remains a challenge

Communication with the city of Beira, where Humanity & Inclusion’s team is located, remain intermittent. “As I arrived by plane, I could see that Ruzi district, just south of Beira, had been hit by floods even more so than wind," Fabrice adds. "On the roadsides, you can see that many telephone poles have been twisted or brought down. Communication problems are making it difficult to coordinate assistance.

"From what I could see in Beira, most damage was uprooted trees, fallen branches, and torn-off roofs. Building damage is due mainly to falling trees. A church was almost completely blown away by the cyclone. The roof had disappeared and part of the facade.”

Throughout the city, people are working tirelessly to repair damage from the cyclone. “The local population is extremely resilient. Many trees on the ground have been cut up. Large numbers of volunteers are searching the debris. But we still don’t know how people in rural areas have responded to the disaster.”

Emergency kits

Humanity & Inclusion is stepping up its deployment to help the most vulnerable people. We plan to provide food aid to more than 12,000 families and hygiene kits to more than 500 families. HI’s teams will also ensure the most vulnerable people are included in emergency response.

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986. Currently, our teams are working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: Sheet metal and other debris block roadways and damage cars in Mozambique following Cyclone Idai.

“Access is the major challenge”

More than a week after Cyclone Idai hit central Mozambique, the situation remains critical. 

“More than 17,000 houses, nearly 3,000 classrooms and 40 health centers have been destroyed," explains Marco Tamburro, program director for HI in Mozambique. Beira is a city of more than 500,000 inhabitants and it has been completely devastated. You have to imagine a city like Manchester in the United Kingdom, with huge amounts of debris, waterlogged streets and a communication network that no longer works. Accessing people in need is the major challenge of this rescue operation.”

According to the Mozambican authorities, Cyclone Idai killed nearly 250 people, but this toll could be much more serious, as many areas have not yet received any relief.

Emergency kits

To coordinate clearance operations, and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered, Humanity & Inclusion's team is assessing the areas of Beira that pose the greatest logistics challenges.

Among the concerns: "Our office in Beira was partially destroyed," Tamburro notes. 

Early next week, Humanity & Inclusion's emergency equipment kits will be in position. The first kits are stocked with mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, so that injured people, or people who have lost their walking aids, can move around. Several generators, as well as a logistics kit containing the necessary equipment to install a temporary base for the growing Humanity & Inclusion team will arrive. "We need this equipment to be able to coordinate our work,” he adds. 

Experts arriving

At the same time, emergency experts are being deployed to assist the populations most affected by the disaster.

"We are strengthening our teams to be able to help the most vulnerable survivors. We hope to be able to provide food aid to more than 12,000 families and hygiene kits to more than 500 families. We will also work with all humanitarian actors to ensure that the most vulnerable people are included in the emergency response. When confronted with tens of thousands of people who need help, it is essential to avoid a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, so that older people, people with disabilities, and vulnerable groups receive the specific care they need.”

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986. Currently, our teams are working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: A family in Beira, Mozambique, surveys the damage around their home, following Cyclone Idai.

Reports coming in from Beira, the Mozambican city devastated by Cyclone Idai, are harrowing. Thousands of people remain stranded in floodwaters and nearly 250 people have died. According to reports, the death toll is expected to rise sharply as rescue workers gain access to areas cut off by flooding.

Humanity & Inclusion's Mozambique country director, Marco Tamburro, told CNN, "the roads are totally cut, so Beira is isolated and the cell phone network is down." With flood waters rising, the storm's destruction isn't finished. "It is a big risk having this big quantity of water in the city, there's a risk of an outbreak of cholera, malaria and other diseases."

In Beira, where Humanity & Inclusion has worked for several years, our team had previously identified highly vulnerable individuals as part of an inclusion project. Today, we are particularly concerned about these individuals and will work hard to ensure that they are included in the emergency response.

City destroyed and 140,000 displaced

The damage is greater than expected, with many areas destroyed beyond recognition. Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi says 1,000 may have died. Humanity & Inclusion’s staff and their families based in Beira are safe.

Rural areas unreachable

We do not yet have accurate information from surrounding rural areas and are extremely concerned for the welfare of people who have not yet been reached.

Getting help to where it is needed most

Humanity & Inclusion’s logistics expert, Fabrice Renoux, is joining the team in Mozambique to assess how Humanity & Inclusion can best contribute to the emergency response. He explained the situation before leaving for Beira:

“At this stage, we don’t know exactly what the needs are. Once on the ground, we will be able to gather information in order to find out where the most vulnerable people are and what they most urgently need.

"My role is to identify gaps in the infrastructure, for example blocked or destroyed roads, and to problem-solve in order to facilitate the work of all humanitarian organizations as they try to respond as rapidly as possible.”  

Including the most vulnerable in emergency response

Humanity & Inclusion plans to provide logistics support and to ensure that the emergency response is inclusive– meaning that people with disabilities, older people, and other vulnerable have access to essential and appropriate support. 

Following an evaluation of the needs, Humanity & Inclusion's actions may include:

• Direct food assistance including nutritional treatment for malnourished children
• Provision of water treatment and hygiene promotion
• Shelter and non-food items (kitchen kits, hygiene kits, agricultural tools)
• Protecting the most vulnerable

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986. Currently, our teams are working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. 

Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: A family in Beira, Mozambique, surveys the damage around their home, following Cyclone Idai.

On Thursday, March 14, Cyclone Idai struck northern and central Mozambique. The city of Beira, with a population of more than 500,000, was directly affected by torrential rains and high winds. Phone lines to the area remain cut off, making it difficult to assess the scale of the damage. Head of the Red Cross assessment team, Jamie LeSeur, told the BBC, "people have been rescued from trees, homes have been destroyed and roofs were ripped off concrete buildings." 

Humanity & Inclusion is particularly concerned for rural populations in the affected area who may be completely cut off from humanitarian assistance. We are awaiting further information from our team who has an office in Beira, which includes four Mozambican staff.

Following an evaluation of the needs, Humanity & Inclusion's actions may include:

• Direct food assistance including nutritional treatment for malnourished children
• Provision of water treatment and hygiene promotion
• Shelter and non-food items (kitchen kits, hygiene kits, agricultural tools)
• Protecting the most vulnerable

Olivier Bertrand, Humanity & Inclusion’s head of logistics, explains the situation:

"In view of the violence of Cyclone Idai, Humanity & Inclusion sent a logistics expert to strengthen our team already on the ground in the town of Beira. When the expert arrives, they will be able to assess the situation, and in particular, the difficulties facing people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations–those who may be unable to access humanitarian support.

After a cyclone, we can expect villages to be totally isolated, leaving people cut off from the world, without access to food, first aid, and medicine. Our team will help to identify those who need immediate assistance and make sure that vulnerable populations are mapped. This will allow clearance operations to be carried out and ensure humanitarian aid can reach these isolated people.

We are also planning to set up a logistics platform, which will make it possible to organize and coordinate the transport and delivery of aid, relying on local carriers.”

Humanity & Inclusion in Mozambique

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in Mozambique since 1986. Currently, our teams are working to promote the rights and social participation of people with disabilities, support civil society to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, and prevent the development of disabilities. Learn more about our work in Mozambique.

Photo: Sheet metal and other debris block roadways and damage cars in Mozambique following Cyclone Idai.