Hard Times For Mozambique

The waters may have receded in Mozambique but the nation's needs have not, according to aid organizations and government officials.

The floods swept away the homes or livelihoods of one in 10 of the population of 19 million. An estimated 650,000 will depend on emergency aid for at least six months.

The surging water damaged more than 600 primary schools, wrecked more than 625 miles of roads and downed 250 miles of power lines.

According to the British charity Save the Children, food and safe drinking water are in short supply and malaria and diarrhea are rampant.

"Many children were already in the early stages of malnutrition when the floods hit as this time of year is traditionally a lean one," the group reports in a press release. "Mozambique's infant and child mortality rates are among the worst in the world—one in five children die before the age of five."

This year threatens to be especially hard on the nation's children.

Crops in fertile river valleys in central and southern Mozambique have been destroyed. Large tracts of land remain submerged by water and thick soft mud. Seeds, farm tools—even the little money they had in their huts—just floated away.

Rebuilding it all will be an expensive and lengthy process. The bill for emergency aid for just the coming six months has been estimated at $165 million.

A World Bank-led assessment of reconstruction costs is expected to be released next week, forming the basis for an international aid appeal.

Though the floods robbed the nation of many of its resources, President Joachim Chissano said the people's spirit had not been broken.

Validating his remarks are countless heroic acts and displays of generosity and courage by ordinary Mozambicans.

The panic that characterized early relief efforts also is gone. Most military operations from other nations are about to end with the rescue work out of the way, and most aid is being smoothly directly to where it is needed.

Most importantly, officials see an end to the rainfall that has battered the nation for more than six weeks.

"We seem to have a handle on the food delivery systems," said Dean Curran, U.S. ambassador to Mozambique. "So far, the major epidemics have been avoided, but the challenges are huge, the ecosystems are fragile, the ground is saturated with water, the reservoirs are full, and we are not out of the rainy season yet."

One of the lessons learned, Curran said, was the need to quickly disseminate information, thereby raising international awareness.

"There is no substitute for touching the cord of humanity on these things. Governments move more quickly when they know their people are concerned about a situation," he said.

The international humanitarian response also had to be better coordinated, and greater use had to be made of the military's specialist expertise anlogistical capabilities, he added.

Curran was optimistic about Mozambique's possibilities to get back on its feet, and the willingness of other countries to help.

"There is no doubt Mozambicans are resilient people," he said. "They are ready to pick up and move ahead."