Sh10b needed for El Niño relief efforts

By Carol Kasujja

THE Uganda Red Cross (URC) has cautioned Ugandans against ignoring warnings on the on-going El Niño rains. The humanitarian agency is looking for sh10b to contain the impact of adverse weather condition.

This year’s El Niño is going to be stronger than the one of March 2010 which buried over 150 people and a Health Centre in Bududa District and the one of 2006 which flooded many villages in Teso and Lango sub-regions

The El Niño is expected to cause flooding, extensive erosion and mudslides with loss of lives, destruction of homes and food supplies at varying levels in some districts.

Speaking at a press conference, URC Secretary-General Robert Kwesiga said Ugandans ought to be prepared adequately and to ensure they are safe in the event of the heavy rains.

He said the URC is prepared in all the high risk areas of Teso Sub region, Mt.Elgon Ranges and Rwenzori region.

“Our 51 branches across the country are equipped with trained volunteers on standby to immediately respond to disasters. By using forecasts in this innovative project, we will be able to intervene even earlier and appropriately before even receiving reports of disasters. 

With such a timely disbursal, we hope to avoid potential catastrophe before it even happens, supporting people to continue working and going to school in this region,” said  Kwesiga.

He also noted that they are going to focus on delivering disaster preparedness interventions to communities before disaster strikes. This is a shift from the use of post-intervention, where organizations have to wait for reports of damages in order to be able to mobilize funding and material resources to respond to a disaster.

Joseph Omilmot, the chairman of URC said that they have talked to the communities of Teso and Karamoja to be prepared and be ready to move to higher grounds.

“We have a budget of sh10b to deal with the effect of El Niño, so far 1244 people in the Eastern region who have been affected with the rains and have been helped. But we ask communities to work with us to prevent large scale damage. We are also requesting all partners to join us and support the situation,” said Omilmot.

Currently, more than 100,000 people (12,500 households) are at a risk of landslides in the Mt. Elgon and Rwenzori sub-regions. Up to 20,000 of them are likely to be displaced between November 2015 and February 2016. 

El Niño rains are likely to cause health hazards to hundreds of households in the Rwenzori region and the following districts; Bududa, Bulambuli, Manafwa, Sironko, Mbale, Butaleja, Tororo, Kapchorwa, Bukwo, Kween, Kasese, Budibugyo, Ntoroko, Kampala, Amolatar, Amuria, Katakwi, Nakapiripirit, Napak, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, Kaberamaido, Otuke, Amudat, Kisoro, Kabale, Rukungiri, Kanungu, Ntungamo, Moyo and Kabarole.

Omilmot also noted that they are mobilizing their staff and also working with the Uganda Police to respond to any violence that may occur during the election period.