Heavy rain hampers relief operations

Relief operations to almost 1,700 households in Zambia's Gwende district in the Southern Province have been suspended following heavy rains which washed away vital roads and bridges, World Vision (WV) said on Friday. "It is difficult to access the area by car - only helicopters can be used at the moment," Sikapale Chinzewe, WV operations director for Zambia told IRIN. "The situation is serious - the people need access to safe water and food." He explained that the nearest source of household essentials and clean water involved a long walk over a mountain. "If they get food aid from the other side of the mountain they still have to carry it back over the mountain on their backs which is not easy," Chinweze said. The organisation, which is represented on countrywide disaster management committees, hoped to work with the government and have access to helicopters promised by neighbouring Zimbabwe. Heavy rains and a cyclone in Zimbabwe and Mozambique over the past two weeks have claimed at least 19 lives and, as the water subsides, health workers raised concerns over the spread of illnesses among the vulnerable communities. "I don't know what's going to happen to the young children," Chinweze continued. "Houses were washed away and many have been exposed to the rain and could catch colds and malaria." Poor access had also hampered a school supplementary feeding programme targeting about 3,000 children. The Times of Zambia reported that vice president Enoch Kavindele visited the area this week and directed that 450 mt of relief food be taken to the affected families by helicopter to avert hunger. "The situation is really bad for the people in Gwembe district and government has put up measures to contain it. Over 1,679 households have been affected while 1,239 hectares of farmland has been washed away," he said. World Food Programme spokeswoman Sibi Lawson said they had been forced to halt programmes in the area while the national services cleared the road. Meanwhile, they would monitor the situation.