Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09COTONOU330
2009-07-28 11:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Cotonou
Cable title:  

BENIN DISASTER ALERT UPDATE 3 - THE EMERGENCY THAT WASN'T

Tags:  EAID PGOV BN 
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P 281125Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1051
INFO AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
AMEMBASSY DAKAR 
AMEMBASSY LOME
UNCLAS COTONOU 000330 


STATE FOR AF/E JKNIGHT, AF/W ACOOK, VHARPER
LONDON FOR PLORD
PARIS FOR BKANEDA
DAKAR FOR USAID DCHA/OFDA LPOWERS, MSHIRLEY, AFR/WA NFREEMAN,
DALZOUMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PGOV BN
SUBJECT: BENIN DISASTER ALERT UPDATE 3 - THE EMERGENCY THAT WASN'T

Ref: (A) COTONOU 00288, (B) COTONOU 00298

UNCLAS COTONOU 000330


STATE FOR AF/E JKNIGHT, AF/W ACOOK, VHARPER
LONDON FOR PLORD
PARIS FOR BKANEDA
DAKAR FOR USAID DCHA/OFDA LPOWERS, MSHIRLEY, AFR/WA NFREEMAN,
DALZOUMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PGOV BN
SUBJECT: BENIN DISASTER ALERT UPDATE 3 - THE EMERGENCY THAT WASN'T

Ref: (A) COTONOU 00288, (B) COTONOU 00298


1. Summary: Following the Government of Benin's (GOB) declaration of
a State of Emergency on July 6, 2009, the United Nations mandated an
Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) team to visit
Benin to evaluate the flooding situation and recommend appropriate
humanitarian assistance. The OCHA experts arrived in Benin on July
12 and worked closely with representatives from the GOB,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs),and UN agencies during the
week of July 13-17. Teams visited areas said to be critically
affected by the flooding. Also, technical committees evaluated
pharmaceutical, water and sanitation needs of affected communities.
On July 17, all the visiting groups and technical committees met at
UNDP to present their findings and make recommendations. They
concluded that "there is no global emergency," the conditions
required for the GOB to declare a State of Emergency were not met,
and that the flooding was more of a direct consequence of Benin's
chronic development challenges. End Summary


2. The OCHA Team came to Benin to evaluate flooding which resulted
from seasonal rains and recommend an assistance plan to respond to
Benin's declaration of a State of Emergency. The OCHA team,
accompanied by representatives from Benin's Ministry of Interior and
Ministry of Water, international NGOs, and UNICEF and FAO
representatives, split into two groups and visited regions said to
be most affected by floods. The first group visited Abomey, Cove,
Ouinhi in Zou and Glazoue in Collines. In general, the first group
noticed the following situations: a) flooding in corn fields, b)
flooding of rice paddies, c) damaged access roads, and e) a few
people without shelter because of damage to only 10 houses. The
chief medical doctors in each commune reported no cases of diarrhea
or fatalities, but an increased number of cases of malaria (as every
year during the rainy season). The second group visited several
communes in Mono and observed the same situation.


3. Based on the damages and risks the visiting teams observed,
technical committees identified pharmaceutical drugs as a priority
need. Specifically, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is
needed to treat increased numbers of malaria cases, paracetamol,
quinine, oral rehydration salt and zinc, Cotrimoxazole, Doxicycline,
and additional cholera kits for the Mono region. Water and
sanitation needs include draining flood waters and distributing
chlorine for water treatment. These needs mirror those initially
identified by the GOB, which estimated the cost of meeting them at
$300,000. In light of the committee's findings and recommendations,
the cost should be less than this.


4. It is worthwhile to note that although the GOB continues to
request additional USG assistance in procuring mosquito nets, the
teams did not identify this as a need. Immediately following the
GOB's emergency declaration, Post concurred with the Minister of
Health's decision to use the President's Malaria Initiative
(PMI)-funded bed nets to meet the immediate needs of people in
flooded areas. Post strongly recommended to give bed nets, in
priority, to the most vulnerable populations (children under the age
of five and pregnant women). The Ministry of Health plans on using
80,000 of the 280,000 bed nets that health facilities received in
April 2009 under PMI.


5. Post also recommended that the GOB use up its available stock of
ACT drugs received from PMI and the World Bank's Booster Program
before identifying other potential sources.


6. On behalf of donors, UNDP will report OCHA's evaluation findings
to the GOB and will coordinate assistance to most critical areas in
collaboration with the GOB. However, donors and GOB officials alike
have already concluded that Benin's flooding this year did not
warrant the declaration of a State of Emergency. The Director of
Civil Protection at the Ministry of Interior declared during the
meeting: "We were fooled. Prefects did not activate the Disaster
Response Plan because there is no emergency." An NGO representative
said "this is not an emergency; we are just facing developmental
dysfunction." This sentiment was widely shared among those present
and suggests that Benin's yearly flooding needs to be addressed as a
middle and long-term development issue.

BOUSTANI