The assistance will go towards Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI), Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Health, Protection, Displacement Tracking, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Early Recovery. IOM will take the lead in the Shelter and NFI/CCCM cluster.  

The flooding caused by Cyclone Idai has so far left 268 people dead. Some 270,000 were affected with an estimated 21,000 displaced in the country’s eastern Chipinge and Chimanimani districts. The affected persons who are now residing in collective centres such as schools, hotel conference rooms and vacant shops are in urgent need of assistance.  

Following the aftermath of the cyclone, IOM this month brought a high-level delegation to the hardest hit areas of Zimbabwe. The delegation – IOM Regional Director Southern Africa Charles Kwenin, IOM Zimbabwe Chief of Mission Mario Lito Malanca, and IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies Mohammed Abdiker – met with government officials and affected people in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts to establish the needs and challenges faced by the communities affected by Cyclone Idai. 

In a visit to Kopa and Ngangu, two communities of Chimanimani where the most displacements took place, the IOM delegation noted that Kopa, a once flourishing growth point with more than 77 households, was reduced to rubble with surviving residents seeking shelter in surrounding households. To date 305 people remain missing. 

Upon seeing the level of destruction caused by the cyclone, the Director of Operations and Emergencies authorised USD 100,000 from IOM’s internal emergency mechanism to Zimbabwe to cater for shelter and NFIs.  

“At IOM, we are looking at best ways to assist the affected communities especially in terms of shelter, psychosocial support and non-food items. We are here to support the people of Zimbabwe in the best way that we can,” said Abdiker.