BY SILAS NKALA
The United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) has praised the holistic approach applied on projects run by Cyclone Idai victims in Chimanimani district, Manicaland province.
BHA and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Chimanimani district authorities and representatives of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) visited Cyclone Idai victims recently to assess projects initiated to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the natural phenomenon in 2019.
The project supports communities by providing camp co-ordination and camp management services, strengthening disaster risk management capacities of communities and district civil protection committees.
They also help in tracking the mobility and vulnerabilities of populations affected by Cyclone Idai and provide transitional shelter.
“In collaboration with the government of Zimbabwe, the project is providing transitional shelters to 624 households affected by Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, Manicaland province,” IOM said in a statement yesterday.
“The delegation was updated on the overall progress of project implementation and assessed camp co-ordination and camp management activities as well as the construction of transitional shelter in Chimanimani ward 13. The team also visited the West End relocation site.”
The United Nations agency noted that in addition, the visit provided the delegation and the local authorities with an opportunity to discuss ways to improve service delivery for IDPs in camps and host communities and how best to operationalise the relocation strategy for IDPs in camps.
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Speaking during the visit, director for USAid/BHA, Marialice Ariens, said lasting solutions to disasters like Cyclone Idai could only be achieved when “we draw equally from technical experience and local know-how to operationalise the holistic relocation strategy for IDPs in camps to West End Farm.”
IOM Zimbabwe head of programmes Ana Medeiros hailed USAid/BHA for their support to the affected families.
“It is heartening to see IDP households affected by Cyclone Idai receiving transitional shelters through funding support from USAid/BHA and at the same time receiving full support from government at all levels enabling sustainable reintegration in accordance with durable solutions and African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa”, Medeiros said.
Almost three million people in southern Africa were affected by Cyclone Idai, which hit the southern part of the country in March 2019.
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