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Floods 'displace 15 000 kids'
30/01/2008 16:52 - (SA)
Maputo - At least 15 000 children under the age of five have been displaced by the torrential floods in Mozambique, a global agency working with children said on Wednesday.
Unicef spokesperson in Mozambique Thierry Delvigne-Jean said out of the 92 000 people displaced by floods in Zambezia, Tete, Manica, Sofala and Inhambane provinces, more than half of them were children under the age of 18.
"It is difficult to determine the exact numbers of children that have been affected by the floods, but since children (under 18) account for half the population in Mozambique, we can safely assume that half of the people affected by the floods are children," he said.
He said that out of the 92 000 people displaced by the floods this year, Unicef estimated that 15 000 were children under the age of five.
He said: "In most disasters, including these floods, children tend to suffer the most. They are more vulnerable to diseases, hunger and trauma."
Lack of access to safe water and sanitation increased the risks of water-borne diseases and other infections.
As an immediate response, Unicef had been supporting local authorities and partners by providing safe water to affected populations, using water tankers and facilitating the construction of latrines in the resettlement centres.
Unicef had also started providing insecticide-treated mosquito nets in partnership with the Mozambican Red Cross, MalariaConsortium and the Population Services International as a way of preventing cases of malaria in the flooded areas.
Unicef was also contributing to efforts aimed at the reopening of schools which have been flooded since the beginning of the rainy season.
Preliminary reports by education authorities indicated that 145 schools had been damaged or destroyed, affecting some 70 000 children across five provinces, said the Unicef spokesperson.
"Schools (when reopened) will also provide a very important forum for communicating key life-saving messages," Delvigne-Jean said.
Tents had been distributed to set up 61 temporary educational facilities in the resettlement centres or as annexes to existing nearby schools in order to absorb additional children.
Overcrowding in the resettlement centres, could lead to increased risk of sexual violence and abuse towards women and children.
"To prevent this, camp managers and police officers in the affected areas are being trained in the prevention of violence and abuse, with a special focus on orphans and vulnerable children," he added.
The displaced people were being accommodated in refugee centres in 14 districts of Zambezi, Tete, Manica, Sofala and Inhambane provinces. "Out of those, more than 85% have been evacuated from the Zambezi valley alone.
"The flooding has again affected highly vulnerable areas of Mozambique, where almost all the communities depend on subsistence agriculture and basic services are limited," said Delvigne-Jean.
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