The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) says it has mobilised K34.8 billion out of the K72.7 billion required to fully respond to effects of Cyclone Ana.

In an update released on Wednesday, commissioner for disaster Charles Kalemba said the mobilised package includes financial and in kind resources for response efforts.

The cyclones left destruction in their wake

This means the response plan, planned for execution between February and May 2022, faces a deficit of K37.7 billion or 48 percent of the overall budget.

The resources are supposed to help 166 000 households or roughly 747 000 people hit by Cyclone Ana that, apart from killing people also destroyed infrastructure , including power generation installations, roads, schools and other public assets.

“Meanwhile, the department, its partners and clusters continue to mobilise resources as they implement the plan. The general public will be duly updated on total funds mobilised. Clusters will also produce reports with respect to usage of the mobilised resources within their jurisdiction,” said Kalemba.

Major gaps in the response plan are on food security, which required K17.1 billion, but they have managed to mobilise K7.3 billion, which leaves a K9.7 billion deficit or 57 percent of the cluster’s budget.

Social protection faces a 95 percent funding gap, as out of the budgeted K15.9 billion, only K808 000 was mobilised; water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) also faces an 85 percent funding gap, having only received K1.1 billion from a K7.6 billion budget.

In an interview, Dodma spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said the department hopes to source more resources although he conceded that the global economic challenges have made fund-raising harder.

“I think it has been a feat to mobilise 52 percent of total resources. The world has been passing through difficult times due to Covid-19 and recently the war, so it has not been a good economic period.

“We are hopeful that we may be able to mobilise more resources and keep on calling for more support. We had 177 camps and over 190 000 people, that needed to be fed every day, it is not an easy task,” he said.

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