Located on the southeastern coast of Africa, Mozambique is a natural resource rich country bordered on the east by the Indian Ocean. With a total land area of 801,590 km2 and a population of about 31 million, the country’s density is about 39 people per every square kilometer making it the 171st densest country on the planet.
Originating from a tropical depression off the east coast of Mozambique, the Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall during the night of 14 March 2019, causing heavy downpours and floods in 64 districts (in five provinces) in Mozambique. The torrential rains also affected parts of the neighboring countries namely Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Wreaking great havoc and destruction, Tropical Cyclone Idai led to loss of lives, injuries, displacements and damage to infrastructure and property. With regards infrastructure, an estimated 57 699 houses were destroyed and approximately 267 classrooms and 24 health units were reportedly affected (African Development Bank 2019).
The African Development Bank, AfDB, through its Special Relief Fund (SRF), provided a Short-Term Emergency Relief Assistance grant of US$ 1 million to Mozambique as disaster relief. The grant was used to purchase emergency kits constituting of family tents, tarpaulins, shelter tool kits, hygiene kits, hand pump repair kits and emergency food. Included in this were local transportation costs, insurance, freight, and overhead customs clearance. This grant also covered the management cost of the executing agency and financial audit of the emergency operation.
The justification for AfDB granting the Short-Term Emergency Relief Assistance to Mozambique was threefold. Firstly, the emergency was of a scale clearly beyond the capacity of the Government of Mozambique to handle alone. Secondly, the proposed activities could be carried out expeditiously and effectively within the required time frame and lastly, the emergency relief assistance aimed to restore a degree of normalcy in both the social and economic life of the affected populations as quickly as possible and addresses corrective measures for future flood related disasters.
It is on this basis that countries in dire need of emergency finance can access funding through the SRF from the African Development Bank. Lastly, it is important to note that SRF resources are provided on grant terms, and all afflicted regional member countries are generally eligible including countries under sanctions for arrears on Bank financing.
