[ad_1]
The first cases of cholera have been confirmed in the cyclone-ravaged city of Beira, Mozambican authorities announced Wednesday, highlighting the stakes of an already desperate fight to help hundreds of thousands of people taking refuge in conditions more and more dark.
The five cases of cholera have been confirmed in Munhava, one of the poorest districts of the port city of Beira, hit hard, the national director of medical badistance Ussene Isse told reporters.
PHOTOS: Zimbabwe's economic crisis leads to cross-border shuttles from South Africa
The city of some 500,000 people is still struggling to provide clean water and sanitation facilities after Hurricane Idai on March 14.
Cholera is a major concern for cyclone survivors who now live in overcrowded camps, schools, churches and all flood-prone land.
The disease is spread by contaminated food and water and can kill within hours.
"Second disaster"
The World Health Organization has warned of a "second disaster" if water-borne diseases such as cholera spread in the devastated area.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon in the country about his government's response to the hurricane, which killed more than 460 people in its country and left 1.8 million people in need.
Nyusi estimated at the beginning of last week that 1,000 people had been killed after flying over the vast flood plains of central Mozambique.
The toll could be higher, rescuers said, saying more bodies would be found as a result of floodwater drainage. They said that the actual number of deaths could never be known.
Health workers opened clinics in Beira, the relief center in the region.
Some people in the city have been drinking stagnant water along the road, increasing the risk of diarrhea, the medical charity Medical Doctors Without Borders announced. Other people drink in contaminated wells.
The support group reported witnessing hundreds of cases of acute watery diarrhea in recent days.
"The magnitude of the extreme damage will likely lead to a dramatic increase in waterborne diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections and malaria in the days and weeks to come," he said. Gert Verdonck, emergency coordinator of the group in Beira.
Rural communities
Pressed efforts continued to restore running water in Beira.
The UN agency for children said that parts of the city's water supply system were working again, "water running in 60% of the pipes". The government also operated tankers.
Relief operations continued to explore ways to provide badistance to the city, which remains largely accessible only by air and sea. More difficult was to reach rural communities, some of them still having no contact with the outside world.
New humanitarian actors have arrived as the UN urges the international community to fund an emergency appeal of $ 282 million over the next three months.
The UN refugee agency announced that its first aid flight had landed in the capital, Maputo, with plans to immediately transport tents, mosquito nets and other objects to Beira. .
Two more flights are planned for Zimbabwe and Malawi this week.
At least 468 deaths in Mozambique, including 259 in Zimbabwe and at least 56 in Malawi.
Keep up to date with the latest news by subscribing to our free newsletter.
– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter
[ad_2]
Source link
