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.

Since Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique in mid-March, residents of Beira’s poorest municipalities, the ‘barrios,’ have faced an uphill struggle to meet their daily needs—food, water, shelter, and health care.

Humanity & Inclusion’s Atlas Logistics team coordinated the immediate clean-up efforts in these forgotten communities. It was essential to remove debris created by the storm so that humanitarian actors, including HI, could access hard-to-reach areas to deliver aid. Over five weeks, our logistics unit employed 443 local residents, half of whom are women.

Ensuring vulnerable families are included

Today, these impoverished communities face the daunting task of rebuilding. For vulnerable individuals, people with disabilities, older adults, and single mothers, finding the resources to repair or rebuild their homes is even more challenging. That’s why Humanity & Inclusion’s team is identifying vulnerable families in need and providing them with vital support.

Distributing shelter repair kits

Over the next three weeks, we will distribute 2,500 standard shelter repair kits which includes the following items: tarpaulin, rope, nails, washers, hoe, machete, saw, shovel, and hammer

Humanity & Inclusion’s activities

Completed

• Debris removal to provide access to all main roads
• Debris removal in 11 districts of Beira city
• Surveillance and creation of 6 road access maps—shared with all humanitarian actors

Ongoing

• Distribution of 2,500 shelter repair kits to the most vulnerable residents of 10 districts in Beira city
• Distribution of 815 essential household item kits to Humanity & Inclusion’s existing beneficiaries

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 work 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. 

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

Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique on March 14, killing more than 600 people, injuring more than 1,600, and leaving nearly two million in need of humanitarian assistance. Flash floods and mudslides caused by the storm destroyed 90% of Beira, a coastal city in Mozambique.

Humanity & Inclusion is on the ground, helping survivors. 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. To help minimize the risk of spreading cholera, our team is distributing hygiene kits, which include basic items such as hand and laundry soaps, to 8,000 families. 

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.

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

Mozambique is still reeling from the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai six weeks ago, but has not been spared from further disaster. Cyclone Kenneth struck the north of the country on Thursday April 25.

Shortly after the cyclone struck Mozambique, Humanity & Inclusion’s Claude Briade visited some of the poorest areas of Beira. He describes the poverty-stricken communities: “Ramshackle housing, no regulation, poor hygiene, inadequate health infrastructure. In ‘normal’ times, life is extremely hard in these tangled alleys. What managed to emerge despite this poverty has been completely destroyed by Cyclone Idai.”

For Lucia, a 38 year old single mother of five, the impact of the storm was devastating. In the photo above, she sits in front of what remains of her families’ home a few days after the cyclone. Lucia managed to salvage some possessions from the debris–clothes, a tarp, and bucket–but now faces the challenge of keeping the children dry in a home with no roof and protecting them from disease like cholera. 

Cholera epidemic

Cholera has since taken hold in districts like Lucia’s, with almost 5,000 confirmed cases. That’s why, Humanity & Inclusion will distribute hygiene kits, which include basic items such as hand and laundry soaps, to 8,000 families.

Supporting the most vulnerable

“Humanity & Inclusion has pledged to help the most vulnerable victims of the cyclone: people with disabilities, orphaned and chronically ill children and isolated seniors–many of which can be found in Beira’s forgotten poor communities.”

Improving access to aid

Emergency logistics colleagues are reinforcing capacity and working to open access points to rural areas shut off from humanitarian aid. Our team provided trucks and materials to clear 10 of Beira’s impoverished communities. Local residents are also employed to collect debris and clean the streets.

In addition, HI will also distribute 2,500 shelter and repair kits in these districts to help people rebuild their destroyed homes.

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: Lucia in front of the remains of her home, destroyed by Cyclone Idai.

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.