Highlights
The report from the National Rapid Assessment on the drought was released by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in March.
The Rapid Assessment Report predicts that up to 538,000 people will require food assistance by May, 2016, as a worst case scenario.
The Government of Swaziland provided food assistance and water allocation to 158,000 people between the period November 2015 – January 2016, as guided by NERMAP.
On 16 March 2016, the Government held a donor conference to mobilize support for the drought response with a keynote address by the Prime Minister, Dr. Sibusiso Dlamini.
To date, the Government has committed around US$ 3.2 million to drought interventions.
With UNOCHA support, the UN submitted a CERF appeal for the total of US$ 3,144,400 in support of food assistance and the provision of emergency water and sanitation for the affected population.
UNICEF’s CERF application focussed on the WASH response amounting to US$342,400.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
(The numbers below are estimates and represent people to be affected by end of March 2016)
300,320 people affected by drought
189,000 children affected by drought
165,000 children affected by drought in the two most affected regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni
200,897 people food insecure
90,404 children food insecure
8,460 children 6-59 months affected by severe and moderate acute malnutrition
UNICEF Swaziland Appeal 2016 US$ 2,980,800
Funding Gap 89%
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Following the declaration of the emergency as a result of the drought on 18 of February the Government of Swaziland has made efforts to address the growing humanitarian needs. On the 16th of March, 2016, the Government held a donor conference to brief the donor community on the National Drought Emergency Mitigation and Adaptation Plan (NERMAP) 2016-2022 and the current situation of the drought in the country. The overall NERMAP humanitarian requirement is US$80.5 million, of which the government has made available US$3.2m, to cater forthe immediate needs and additional commitments. To date, the Government drought response has been supporting food distribution, water supply and dredging services for Hawane and other dams.
Food support and water supply remain the priority immediate needs among communities in the worst affected regions of Lubombo and Shiselweni, however there are also pockets of people in need in the Hhohho and Manzini regions. The NERMAP 2016-2022 had estimated that from March 2016 a minimum of 300,000 people, (about one third of the population), will be in need of food assistance. According to preliminary information from the recent assessment, this number is expected to increase to 350,000 from May 2016 onwards, with a worst case scenario of 538,000 people, of whom approximately 200,000 are at risk of not accessing safe water to drink.
Water shortage remains a key concern and challenge, with extremely limited water storage in national reservoirs and very low water availability in all five major rivers. Work has been completed on Hawane Dam which supplies water to the capital city, Mbabane, with its dredging and closing of wall valves in order to improve water collection. Recent temporary rains improved the dam’s capacity, which has resulted in the temporary suspension of water rationing. Domestic water supply in the rural areas of Lubombo and Shiselweni is of great concern as protected springs and boreholes are drying up, affecting not only communities but health facilities and schools. Close monitoring of the water provision by water tankers is crucial to ensure that schools and health care services remain functional. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has installed on site reservoirs for Mbabane schools to cover the rationing periods to enable schooling to continue.
The results on health and nutrition from the Rapid Assessment conducted in February did not provide sufficient data to contribute towards a well-informed health and nutrition response.
The assessment did, however, indicate an estimated 31% increase in diarrhoea treated at health facilities and about 23% and 53% of households in Shiselweni and Lubombo regions respectively reporting to have had diarrheal cases in the past three months. The Health sector completed a comprehensive health and nutrition sector assessment from 16-23 March, 2016, which will provide strategic recommendations to improve the health response, as outlined in the NERMAP.