Publications
Partners
- Climate-resilient classrooms constructed in 2019 have survived Cyclone Freddy's two cycles.
- About 134 000 students were affected by the cyclone's destruction.
- Cholera cases have reached 10 700 since the cyclone first made landfall.
Unicef has called for more investment in climate-resilient infrastructure in Mozambique after classroom blocks constructed in 2019 survived the devastating Cyclone Freddy which made two landfalls in a month.
In a statement, it said none of the 1 025 classrooms suffered damage during the cyclone, demonstrating the importance of investing in climate-resilient infrastructure.
The Mozambique National Institute of Disaster Risk Management (INGD) estimated the cyclone was responsible for the destruction of at least 1 500 classrooms.
This has activated Unicef to support efforts that will ensure children in affected areas regain access to education.
About 134 000 pupils were affected by the cyclone's destruction.
READ | What makes Cyclone Freddy an exceptional storm
For immediate assistance, Unicef said it needed about R900 million which would be channelled toward "providing lifesaving supplies, services, and technical support in water, sanitation, and hygiene; health; education; nutrition; child and social protection, and recovery efforts, with behaviour change interventions integrated across all sectors".
Cholera
More than 2 000 cholera cases were reported in Mozambique last week as the cyclone made its second landfall.
Since its first landfall in February, Mozambique has been experiencing floods - a fertile ground for water-borne diseases.
Thirty-six districts in eight provinces have active cholera cases, with Inhambane and Zambezia provinces most affected by the cyclone declaring outbreaks.
By Unicef's count, more than 10 000 cases have been reported since February.
"Reported cases have almost quadrupled - to almost 10 700 - since early February and more than 2 300 cases have been reported during the past week alone," it said in a statement.
Unicef was concerned it might not just be dealing with cholera in the days to come but also malaria and diarrhoea which are child killers in impoverished communities.
Its representative to Mozambique, Maria Luisa Fornara, said they were working with the government to "urgently restore access to health, water, hygiene, and sanitation interventions to areas hit by the cyclone, and to prevent and treat cholera, but additional support is needed to meet the rapidly growing needs of children and families".
A cholera vaccination campaign sponsored by Unicef reached 720 000 people in February, and the organisation said it was assisting with the purchase of an additional 1.36 million vaccinations for distribution in the coming weeks.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
