This Emergency Appeal seeks CHF 1,372,054 in cash, kind, or services to support the Namibia Red Cross Society (NRCS) to assist 55,000 beneficiaries (11,000 households) in four northern regions (Kavango, Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Kunene) severely affected by drought. This follows a national state of emergency issued by the Government of Namibia on 17 May 2013 asking for international assistance for the estimated 331,000 people in rural communities classified as food insecure (14% of the total population of Namibia). In response, Southern Africa Regional Office (SARO) operations coordinator went to Namibia to support the National Society in preparing an emergency response. The Appeal will commence on 1 July 2013 and will operate for 12 months. A Final Report will be made available by 30 September 2014.
This Emergency Appeal seeks to support the NRCS to assist vulnerable people in northern Namibia who are food insecure as a result of a drought that affected the 2012-13 agricultural season. In addition, the Appeal also seeks to provide WASH interventions, continue and expand NRCS’s existing feeding schemes, and promote and support community-based maternal, infant and young child nutrition (IYCF) interventions. An important focus will be on building communities’ preparedness for future droughts by providing drought tolerant seeds, tools, and building the capacity and knowledge of the targeted population.
The Appeal will be targeting the most affected and vulnerable households, with priority given to subsistence farmers, female-headed households and households of the chronically ill, people living with HIV/AIDS and elderly people. The target of 55,000 beneficiaries (11,000 households) represents approximately 35% of the total number of people identified as food insecure in the four targeted areas. It is anticipated that the affected people not covered by NRCS will be supported by government and other organizations.