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STORY: UNDP / MOZAMBIQUE
TRT: 2:18
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 9 AND 10 APRIL 2019, BEIRA AND MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE
9 APRIL 2019, BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE
1. Aerial shot of Beira, Mozambique
2. Med shot, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, meets and greets SURGE advisors deployed to assist with post-disaster needs in the city of Beira, Mozambique
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa:
“The needs are vast. They need everything, because the devastation was total. As we’ve come here, we see schools with roofs blown off, you know, the flooding has done a lot of damage. So they need anywhere from food support to water, washing is very important because there has been a cholera outbreak in the area. But more than water, sanitation. I spoke to a young woman who said their most critical need now, they want to return to their normal lives. They would like to rebuild their house, they would want to get the schools running again so they can go back to school. So the needs are in all sectors, but above all, what I felt is that people don’t want handouts beyond a certain period. They want to recover quickly, so they want us to move quickly into recovery, they want us to provide packages that allow them to go home and start settling back in. They don’t want to stay in camps forever, so we are here also to start looking into that.”
4. Med shot, Ahunna Eziakonwa meets with UNDP staff on the ground
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa:
“We need to assess the situation, so we have a group of economists on the ground, who are doing a socio-economic impact assessment to really determine not only the economic impact, but also the social impact, you know, what sectors have been affected, the productive sectors. What has happened to the agriculture sector. The fact that the crop, about 700 thousand hectares of crops were destroyed in the country. How do you build back, you know. We want to support those working in this sector to begin already distributing seeds, so that they can take advantage of the small planting season that is coming, just to start replanting. We want to look at, obviously, the micro and macroeconomic aspects of it.”
10 APRIL 2019, MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE
6. Med shot, Ahunna Eziakonwa meets the president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi.
UNDP’s Regional Director for Africa Ahunna Eziakonwa commended the Government of Mozambique and the humanitarian community for their coordinated response to cyclone Idai as she concluded a three-day mission to Mozambique on Thursday, 11 April 2019.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa:
“The needs are vast. They need everything, because the devastation was total. As we’ve come here, we see schools with roofs blown off, you know, the flooding has done a lot of damage. So they need anywhere from food support to water, washing is very important because there has been a cholera outbreak in the area. But more than water, sanitation. I spoke to a young woman who said their most critical need now, they want to return to their normal lives. They would like to rebuild their house, they would want to get the schools running again so they can go back to school. So the needs are in all sectors, but above all, what I felt is that people don’t want handouts beyond a certain period. They want to recover quickly, so they want us to move quickly into recovery, they want us to provide packages that allow them to go home and start settling back in. They don’t want to stay in camps forever, so we are here also to start looking into that.”
Eziakonwa also noted that in Beira, humanitarian staff are working in clusters of their area of expertise and not in their agencies, and under the leadership of the Government. This is the humanitarian response at its best, this is the future of the humanitarian work.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, the senior most UN official to visit the country since the disaster, also noted that a lot remained to be done, given the scale of the devastation.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa:
“We need to assess the situation, so we have a group of economists on the ground, who are doing a socio-economic impact assessment to really determine not only the economic impact, but also the social impact, you know, what sectors have been affected, the productive sectors. What has happened to the agriculture sector. The fact that the crop, about 700 thousand hectares of crops were destroyed in the country. How do you build back, you know. We want to support those working in this sector to begin already distributing seeds, so that they can take advantage of the small planting season that is coming, just to start replanting. We want to look at, obviously, the micro and macroeconomic aspects of it.”
Meeting with the President of Mozambique, H.E. President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, Eziakonwa conveyed the condolences and solidarity from the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner.
Upon her arrival, Eziakonwa visited the port city of Beira, which was severely hit by cyclone Idai when it made landfall between 14 to 15 March. She visited some of the most affected areas, including Buzi, where she witnessed food distribution and interacted with local officials as well as with people who lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.
According to Government figures, over 600 people lost their lives following the cyclone and floods; 239,731 houses were destroyed; 3,504 classrooms impacted with 335,132 students affected; 55 health facilities destroyed, and more than 715,300 ha of crops damaged (about 13 per cent of Mozambique’s total agricultural land). According to the World Bank, agricultural losses are estimated between $141 million and $258 million.
The Agriculture Minister, the Public Works and Water Resources Minister, the Mayor of Beira city, and the General Director of the Government National Disaster Management Institute conveyed a unified message that local communities resilient and eager to rebuild their lives.
A US $300 million flash appeal has been launched. UNDP is conducting a social and economic impact assessment that will feed into a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to be conducted by the Government with support from the UN, the World Bank and the European Union.
Following the humanitarian phase, the PDNA will inform decisions by the Government, development partners, and other stakeholders on how to rebuild infrastructure to withstand the impacts of future disasters and lay the foundations for sustainable resilient recovery.
