THE Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has dispatched 180 enumerators in the 90 districts of the country to conduct the 2022 in-depth vulnerability and needs assessment survey.
In a statement, DMMU senior communications officer Mathews Musukwa says this is as a result of the flash floods situation and dry spells experienced during the 2021/2022 rain season in some parts of the country.
Musukwa said the exercise would be conducted from 4th to 18th June adding that the results of the survey will be critical for designing relief interventions, ascertaining the impact of the rainfall season on the livelihoods of people and for mobilisation of resources.
“The enumerators will visit the selected districts to ascertain the impact of the 2021/2022 rainy season on people’s livelihoods. Government therefore wishes to appeal to the general public to provide accurate information to the enumerators as it will be used for planning purposes and relief intervention in the next season,” he said. “Government further wishes to emphasise that the assessment exercise being carried out in the targeted districts in all the 10 provinces is objective. The In-depth Assessment is conducted under the umbrella of the Zambia Vulnerability and Needs Assessment Committee which is a consortium of various stakeholders that include government, United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The 2022 In-depth Assessment is quite unique because the process has been decentralised in all the ten (10) provinces of Zambia. The decentralisation of the exercise follows the pilot which was conducted last year in five provinces namely Lusaka, Copperbelt, Eastern, Southern and Central.”
Musukwa said for the first time in the history of the country, all provinces would be assessed although not all the districts would be reached.
“The enumerators will visit households in the targeted 90 districts to collect data on household demographics, agricultural production and food security. The enumerators will also collect data on health and nutritional security, livestock and fisheries, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, income and expenditure, assets and livelihoods. The processed data from this survey is what will form the 2022 In-depth Vulnerability and Needs Assessment Report,” said Musukwa.
By Fanny Kalonda (The Mast)