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“Women, youth and persons with disabilities, as vulnerable groups, will be most impacted by the shortages in their homes and businesses.”
This is according to Health Minister Joe Phaahla during a briefing by the social cluster ministers on the national state of disaster that resulted from the deadly floods in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
On Thursday, Phaahla said the Women’s Economic Assembly was developing a programme of action in an attempt to offer assistance to women and children who were victims of the floods. He said:
He said that, through the office of the premier in KwaZulu-Natal, they would be monitoring the accessibility of services to women who have been displaced and facilitate interventions where there were needs identified.
“We will also monitor the safety of women and girls at shelters for displaced persons to ensure incidents of gender-based violence and femicide are prevented.”
Phaahla added that issues of school infrastructure had come to the fore with respect to water supply, sanitation and hygiene, as the situation at hand had been exacerbated by the floods.
“We are also going to contribute sanitary pads to KwaZulu-Natal to assist flood victims. Plans are advanced to ensure that the donation reaches displaced women and girls.”
READ: R184m needed to repair 84 damaged health facilities in KZN
He indicated that schooling was continuing elsewhere in the province, but, in the affected areas, attendance was uneven.
He said that they would also monitor how the youth, especially those with disabilities, would return to school and how this disaster had impacted on their education.
Phaahla concluded that it was:
“We extend our appreciation to our social partners who have initiated various interventions to assist those in distress. It will be a long road but, together, we can do so much more to minimise the impact of the devastating floods.”
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