ZIMBABWE CHOLERA - USAID/DART CLOSE OUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000331 SIPDIS AIDAC AFR/SA FOR ELOKEN, LDOBBINS, BHIRSCH, JHARMON OFDA/W FOR ACONVERY, CCHAN, LPOWERS, KMARTIN FFP/W FOR JBORNS, ASINK, LPETERSEN PRETORIA FOR HHALE, PDISKIN, SMCNIVEN GENEVA FOR NKYLOH ROME FOR USUN FODAG FOR RNEWBERG BRUSSELS FOR USAID PBROWN NEW YORK FOR DMERCADO NSC FOR CPRATT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EAGR PREL PHUM ZI SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE CHOLERA - USAID/DART CLOSE OUT HARARE 00000331 001.2 OF 004 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. In response to the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) activated a USAID/Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART). The mission of the USAID/DART was to identify humanitarian needs, target USAID/OFDA funding, evaluate response effectiveness, conduct field assessments, and participate in cholera-related meetings, including health and WASH cluster meetings. The USAID/DART has ascertained that humanitarian organizations have continued to improve overall coordination and information management, case management capacity, and epidemiological analysis. As of April 3, the UAID/DART has determined, in consultation with USAID/OFDA, that conditions have been met for USAID/DART close out operations. ¶2. The USAID/DART has programmed more than USD7.3 million in response to the Zimbabwe 2008-09 cholera outbreak, including all of the USD6.8 million initially pledged. Through nine UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing partners, USAID/OFDA is supporting humanitarian coordination and health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions in all ten provinces of Zimbabwe. USAID/OFDA has procured 400 metric tons (MT) of soap, which was consigned to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) for provision to humanitarian organizations conducting hygiene materials distributions to at-risk populations. These emergency WASH interventions complement USAID/OFDA's long-term WASH programming for the ongoing complex emergency. In fiscal year (FY) 2008, USAID/OFDA provided more than USD4 million for WASH interventions prior to the cholera outbreak. Following USAID/DART close out, USAID/OFDA staff based in Harare will continue to monitor the cholera response through discussions with partners, attending coordination meetings, and conducting additional health and WASH assessments as needed. END SUMMARY. -------------- OVERVIEW -------------- ¶3. Beginning in August 2008, a cholera outbreak spread to all of Zimbabwe's provinces and affected 60 of Zimbabwe's 62 districts. As of April 16, 2009, the cholera outbreak had caused 4,201 deaths with more than 96,000 cases reported, and a cumulative case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.4 percent, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, weekly epidemiological data indicates a sustained decline in the rate of cholera cases and deaths over the past eight weeks. The health and WASH clusters and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) have identified health and WASH programming, particularly social mobilization programs for cholera prevention coupled with hygiene materials distributions, as the most effective means to mitigate the spread of cholera. Cholera cases originating in Zimbabwe have also been reported in neighboring countries, including South Africa. -------------- ACTIVATION OF THE USAID/DART -------------- ¶4. On December 5, 2008 USAID/OFDA health and WASH technical Q4. On December 5, 2008 USAID/OFDA health and WASH technical specialists arrived in Zimbabwe to assess the cholera outbreak, supplementing the efforts of two USAID/OFDA staff based in Harare. On December 16, U.S. Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Katherine S. Dhanani declared a disaster due to the effects of the cholera outbreak. As part of ongoing response efforts, USAID/OFDA activated a five-person USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) on December 10 to identify humanitarian needs, evaluate response effectiveness, conduct field assessments, and participate in cholera-related meetings, including UN health and WASH cluster meetings. USAID/DART health and WASH technical specialists conducted a number of assessments of the cholera response and USAID/OFDA-funded interventions in December, January, and early February. HARARE 00000331 002.2 OF 004 -------------- USAID/OFDA CHOLERA RESPONSE PROGRAMMING -------------- ¶5. The USAID/DART has programmed more than USD7.3 million in response to the cholera outbreak, including all of the USD6.8 million pledged in early December 2008. USAID/OFDA has provided approximately USD750,000 for health sector coordination and contributed nearly USD365,000 for the purchase and transport of hygiene commodities. USAID/OFDA is also providing more than USD6.1 million for WASH programming, including additional hygiene supplies and cross-border WASH support for South Africa's Limpopo Province. -------------- USAID/OFDA EMERGENCY WASH PROGRAMMING -------------- ¶6. To provide for immediate WASH needs, USAID/OFDA provided nearly USD2 million to Oxfam/Great Britain (GB). The NGO was already working on longer-term USAID/OFDA-funded WASH programming as part of the response to the ongoing complex emergency in Zimbabwe. With the additional funding, Oxfam/GB scaled up WASH interventions for the cholera response, including participatory health and hygiene education (PHHE),sanitation interventions, the provision of safe water, and hygiene commodities distributions in seven districts in six different provinces, as well as the cities of Harare and Bulawayo. The NGO is implementing the activities both directly and through local partners. Oxfam is also supporting borehole rehabilitation in Mudzi District. ¶7. Oxfam staff has reported improved access to safe water for approximately 200,000 people through emergency water tankering and water tank installation. The organization has rehabilitated 45 boreholes in Mudzi District and plans to repair an additional 75 boreholes, supplying community members with training and providing spare parts. Oxfam has also trained nearly 1,600 community volunteers, 75 percent of which are women, in basic hygiene, cholera transmission routes and prevention, and basic sanitation. The NGO's community outreach has supported 18 drama groups and 396 awareness sessions. Community volunteers have conducted more than 25,000 household visits, distributing information, education, and communication (IEC) materials. ¶8. USAID/OFDA staff have met frequently with Oxfam/GB and conducted visits to hygiene supply distributions in high-density areas in Kadoma, Norton, Bulawayo, and Harare. In each case, USAID/OFDA staff noted that the NGO and local partners had recruited volunteers from the affected areas to carry out distributions, as well as house-to-house hygiene education. USAID/OFDA staff also attended refresher training for community volunteers, participated in one of the daily district-level coordination meetings between Oxfam and local government, and questioned an informal focus group of beneficiaries from a hygiene supplies distribution. The beneficiaries demonstrated a good knowledge of cholera prevention and identified issues including a lack of adequate waste collection Qand identified issues including a lack of adequate waste collection and poor drainage at the local water point. The USAID/OFDA WASH specialist also assessed a number of rural boreholes recently rehabilitated by the NGO in Mudzi District. ¶9. USAID/OFDA is also providing approximately USD2.8 million to six additional humanitarian partners for WASH interventions including PHHE, provision of safe drinking water, social mobilization, targeted sewer repairs, and the procurement and distribution of hygiene supplies to encourage household point-of-use water treatment. The organizations will target cholera-affected districts in nine of the country's ten provinces, including high-density suburbs in Harare and Bulawayo, as well as mobile and vulnerable populations countrywide. To date, USAID/OFDA staff have conducted monitoring visits of two Harare-area hygiene supplies distributions. Both distributions were well organized, with prior registration of beneficiaries, nd included a review of proper hygiene practices and cholera prevention before each distribution took place. HARARE 00000331 003.2 OF 004 -------------- USAID/OFDA-FUNDED CLUSTER COORDINATION -------------- ¶10. USAID/OFDA provided approximately USD920,000 to UNICEF for WASH cluster coordination, the procurement of hygiene commodities, and PHHE. The WASH cluster has improved data collection and dissemination, particularly through the deployment of a UNICEF information management officer funded by USAID/OFDA. ¶11. To improve health cluster coordination, USAID/OFDA is providing USD750,000 to WHO, primarily to support the national cholera command-and-control center. USAID/OFDA support of the command-and-control center has resulted in improved epidemiological reporting, case management training, early warning mechanisms, and rapid response to new cholera alerts. -------------- USAID/OFDA-FUNDED HYGIENE SUPPLIES -------------- ¶12. Beginning January 12, 400 metric tons, or nearly 440,000 bars, of USAID/OFDA-procured soap began arriving at the UNICEF warehouse in Harare. The soap, identified by UNICEF as a gap in needed hygiene supplies, was provided to humanitarian organizations conducting hygiene commodities distributions. USAID/OFDA also funded UNICEF to procure 10 million water treatment tablets, 30,000 water containers, and 30,000 buckets. -------------- USAID/OFDA REGIONAL SUPPORT -------------- ¶13. Recognizing the trans-border impact of the cholera outbreak, USAID/OFDA provided approximately USD400,000 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in South Africa for WASH activities primarily targeting vulnerable populations. The WASH interventions will focus on Limpopo Province, which as of March 16 accounted for approximately 43 percent of the more than 12,500 cholera cases reported in South Africa. -------------- USAID/DART CLOSE OUT STRATEGY -------------- ¶14. On April 3, the USAID/DART determined, in consultation with USAID/OFDA, that conditions had been met for USAID/DART to close out operations. The USAID/DART has ascertained that humanitarian organizations have continued to improve overall coordination and information management, case management capacity, and epidemiological analysis. The cholera response is likely to continue until the end of the rainy season in April. USAID/OFDA staff based in Harare will continue to monitor the cholera response, as well as ongoing complex emergency programming. Cholera prevention interventions will be strengthened through complementary WASH interventions through ongoing complex emergency programming. ¶15. USAID/OFDA's priority is the continuing provision of WASH support to vulnerable populations, both as part of the cholera response and to prevent future diarrheal disease outbreaks. USAID/OFDA provided more than USD4 million in WASH interventions in FY 2008 prior to the cholera outbreak. ¶16. A USAID/OFDA-funded WASH program implemented by an NGO partner in the city of Bulawayo was initiated in 2007 in response to water Qin the city of Bulawayo was initiated in 2007 in response to water shortages and a diahheral disease outbreak in the city. Prior to the cholera outbreak, the organization initiated WASH activities such as the installation of community water tanks, hygiene education, and hygiene supplies distributions, which may have contributed to the exceptionally low rate of cholera in Bulawayo during the current outbreak. As of April 2, WHO reported a total of 443 cholera cases in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city. In HARARE 00000331 004.2 OF 004 contrast, Harare and nearby suburbs have accounted for more than 18,000 cholera cases to date. ¶17. USAID/OFDA staff will continue to monitor the cholera response through ongoing discussions with partners, attending coordination meetings, and requesting future TDY WASH technical assistance to monitor the effectiveness of WASH interventions. USAID/OFDA-funded emergency interventions will help increase household-level coping mechanisms, both in the context of the current cholera outbreak and in the event of a future outbreak, complementing USAID/OFDA's longer-term complex emergency WASH programming. -------------- APPRECIATION -------------- ¶18. The USAID/DART wishes to express appreciation for the exceptional support received from the U.S. Embassy in Harare and USAID/Zimbabwe. The USG response to the cholera outbreak has helped to save lives among the affected populations. By providing impartial, independent humanitarian assistance through assessment-based interventions that ensure an equitable and transparent distribution of assistance, the USG has demonstrated the concern and compassion of the American people for the citizens of Zimbabwe. MCGEE