Banjul – 15 December, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing support for over 3,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities affected by the recent floods in Central River Region (CRR) and Upper River Region (URR), through the provision of non-food items and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services.

Flash floods and heavy downpours from late July throughout August 2022 have had profound impacts on thousands of Gambians across the country. Assessments have identified at least 50,000 people who were directly affected, leaving 7,400 people internally displaced and over 10,000 homes either damaged, destroyed or with collapsed roofs.

To address the immediate needs of those still affected, IOM is distributing non-food items for 150 households – comprising 2,500 individuals – across CRR and URR through the Supporting Activists Foundation (SAF).** The essential supplies – comprised of mattresses, blankets, buckets, soap, kitchen utensils, and sanitary pads – will help ensure communities affected by the environmental disaster secure dignified living conditions through the replacement of critical household items lost in the flood.

“Ensuring access for the affected and vulnerable populations to non-food items following natural disasters is essential,” states Stephen Matete, IOM’s Migration Management Programme Coordinator in The Gambia. “This support prevents the erosion of their livelihoods and ensures their safety and dignity as they rebuild their lives.’’

As part of its efforts to mitigate climate-induced disaster risks to vulnerable communities, IOM is also mobilizing its expertise in MHPSS by providing psychological first aid to flood-affected populations.

Using a community-based psychosocial support approach, IOM is re-deploying the five-person Psychosocial Mobile Team (PMT) from SAF previously engaged in the Foni crisis response to the areas in CRR and URR experiencing the most damage. The PMT, comprised of a psychologist, two social workers, one community mobilizer and one health educator, is providing direct MHPSS services to a target population of 1,500 people to alleviate distress and promote resilience and recovery.

“When it comes to individual needs, mental health should be everyone’s concern,” explains Antouwan Badjie, SAF Team Lead in CRR. “These families have been seriously affected and is a great need to intervene and support them.”

*Data as of October 2022 from the National Disaster Management Agency and UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team.

*Estimates based on Mean Household Size from the Gambia Bureau of Statistics

For more information, please contact Robert Kovacs, (publicinfogambia@iom.int).