IRIN Focus on IDPs

The ongoing emergency situation in the Northwestern Province of Zambia has prompted the Office of the Vice President (OVP)/Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to 9,100 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Kyoshi Nakamitsu, Assistant Programme Officer for UNICEF in Zambia told IRIN on Wednesday that UNICEF had been appointed the lead UN agency for IDPs along with the UNDP, WFP and UNHCR. Nakamitsu said: “The number of IDPs is increasing, the Angolan incursions are growing more frequent and it is very difficult for us to deal with this situation.” Recently the UN agencies and the government undertook an assessment mission to the area. Major findings UNICEF said in its assessment that more than 400 Zambians had been displaced in Mize about 15 km west of Zambezi (south of Zambia’s northern border with Angola) and up to 1,200 people had been stranded in Myambe, about 30 km from Mize. “The IDPs including up to 20 percent of children under five, have been stranded in Myambe/Mize with poor hygiene facilities and limited access to safe drinking water,” UNICEF said. UNICEF said that the first group of IDPs arrived in early April and that number of IDPs in Myambe/Mize had “rapidly increased” since 16 April. “As of 18 May, the number is still increasing, on average by 20 IDPs per day,” UNICEF added. It said that most of the IDPs were originally from Nguvu and Chinyama-Litapi. UNICEF said that local officials in Myambe had informed the assessment team that up to 1,500 IDPs had been stranded on Lumgeveengu Island of Lake Mwange. UNICEF added that altogether there were an estimated 4,000 IDPs in Chinyama-Litapi and Nguvu. Location of displacement UNICEF said that locating IDPs on the west bank of the Zambezi River remained “problematic” because of the harsh terrain, high water levels and continued insecurity. “In Chavuma and Mize/Myambe, may IDPs have spontaneously settled on transit sites with relatives, or scattered within the general population,” it said. It added that the attitude of local populations in Chavuma, Mize, Myambe toward the displaced Zambians “remained favourable”. In Myambe more than 13 hectares of land, UNICEF said, would be required to accommodate up to 4,000 IDPs which included current IDP populations in Chinyama-Litapi and Nguvu. Health UNICEF said that it had increased emergency health assistance to Chavuma and that the French chapter of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF-F) were running mobile clinics in the area. The Zambian Red Cross was assisting health facilities and providing emergency logistical support to IDPs. The overall health status of the IDPs was described as “adequate”. Food and non-food items UNICEF noted that the OVP/WFP food pipeline had largely been “adequate”, except for the intermittent shortages because of delayed scheduled food deliveries in Chavuma and Myambe. “A delivery of some 20 mt is expected to reach Mize and Myambe by the end of May, which will improve food security in Zambezi west,” UNICEF said. It added that a large consignment of “urgently needed” non-food items, including plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans would be airlifted by UNICEF from its emergency warehouse in Copenhagen and that the supplies were expected to arrive in Lusaka by the end of May. Contingency planning UNICEF said that in order to prepare contingency planning for the IDPs, it had agreed upon a working figure of 25,000 IDPs for the next six months in the Northwestern and Western Provinces of Zambia. “This figure will be reviewed and updated, as necessary on a monthly basis,” UNICEF noted.