Summary: CHF 119,241 has been allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the National Society in delivering immediate assistance to some 128,200 direct beneficiaries and up to 1.1 million indirect beneficiaries. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
Since the end of November 2012, the town of Pointe Noire experienced heavy rains that left most of the town inundated. A DREF operation (Floods, MDRCG012) was launched in response to these floods, with a focus on emergency shelter, provision of basic household items, and access to safe water and sanitation.
In the ensuing weeks, the first cases of cholera emerged. The floods operation was revised in January to allow for more detailed support in emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene as well as disease prevention activities for up to 42,200 persons. For over a month now, Congolese Red Cross (CRC) volunteers have been carrying out activities related to the flooding, and have also seized the opportunity to raise awareness and carry out sanitation activities in order to break the cholera transmission chain. The flood operation has since concluded, with a total of 41,398 people sensitized and 3,968 plots disinfected among others. However, the ever increasing number of new cases has led to a review of the strategy and the request for a separate DREF allocation; it presently calls for a considerable increase in the number of volunteers to reach more people, together with proper equipment and a comprehensive assessment of the situation and a review of the last round of interventions. With the support of this DREF allocation, intensive social mobilization scheduled at three sessions per week will be carried out. The result of the assessment/ evaluation which will be conducted concurrently will help in reorienting planned activities as needed.
This operation is expected to be implemented over two months, and will therefore be completed by 11 June, 2013; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 11 September 2013).