A/HRC/42/43/Add.2 33. In 2012, the Council of Ministers established the National Council for Older Persons, a mechanism for consultation, advice and intersectoral coordination of action on issues relating to older persons, which brings ministries together on ageing issues. The Government also established the Ministry for Women and Social Action, which is responsible for providing social assistance to vulnerable groups, including older persons and persons with disabilities. IV. Independent Expert’s main findings A. Older persons in post-disaster settings 34. Mozambique ranks third among the African countries most exposed to multiple weather-related hazards and suffers from periodic cyclones, droughts, floods and related epidemics. Droughts occur primarily in the southern region, with a frequency of seven droughts for every 10 years. Floods occur every two to three years, with higher levels of risk in the central and southern regions.6 The response to the 2015 onset of flooding and Cyclone Chedza placed additional and unexpected pressure on the public finances, further exacerbating the country’s upward debt trajectory. Climate change is likely to worsen current climate variability, leading to more intense droughts, unpredictable rains, floods and uncontrollable fires. 35. The country ranks 17th on the Disaster Risk and Age Index, which relates not only to the fact that Mozambique is prone to disasters and hazards, but also measures the vulnerability of older persons in such situations and indicates that the country lacks coping capacity.7 Mia Couto, a famous contemporary Mozambican author, perfectly captures the challenges older persons face in post-disaster settings, as he writes about an older man: “They saved him from death, but they did not save him from life”.8 36. In 1999, Mozambique established the National Institute of Disaster Management, which coordinates disaster risk management activities. It operates under the Ministry of State Administration and is mandated to coordinate emergencies, promote disaster prevention through population and government mobilization, protect human lives, ensure multisectoral coordination in disaster emergencies, coordinate early warning systems and carry out public awareness exercises. 37. In March 2019, Cyclone Idai made landfall on the African continent in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique with more than 500,000 inhabitants. 9 According to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the cyclone destroyed 90 per cent of Beira.10 Only five weeks later, on 25 April 2019, during the visit of the Independent Expert, Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in the country between the districts of Macomia and Mocimboa da Praia. 38. Cyclone Idai killed more than 700 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, many of whom were forced to use dirty water supplies.11 In Mozambique, the official death toll had risen to 598 as of 3 April, with more than 1,600 people injured. Around 200,000 houses were identified as either totally or partially destroyed or flooded. Nearly 131,100 people were internally displaced and accommodated in 136 sites across Sofala, Manica, Zambezia and Tete Provinces. The authorities have identified more than 28,000 vulnerable people across those sites. The 6 7 8 9 10 11 See Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery: Mozambique. See www.helpage.org/disaster-index. Mia Couto, The Blind Fisherman, translated by David Brookshaw (Johannesburg, South Africa, Penguin books, 2010). See https://pt.globalvoices.org/2019/03/20/ciclone-idai-em-mocambique-cidade-da-beira-de-500-milhabitantes-foi-quase-toda-submersa/. See www.dw.com/pt-002/mo%C3%A7ambique-dificuldades-em-apoiar-v%C3%ADtimas-dociclone-idai-s%C3%A3o-grandes/a-47968789. These numbers are from 30 March, but they increase every day. 7