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Confirming delivery, Christian Lindmeier of the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters in Geneva that the shipment was already being unloaded and that it would begin Wednesday.
Protective measures need to be implemented in four areas: Beira City, Dondo District, Nhamatanda and Buzi districts, where "virtually the entire population will be vaccinated", said the spokesperson of the group. ; WHO.
According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children 's Fund (UNICEF), local radio stations have agreed to participate in awareness activities on the importance of containing the disease' s disease. waterborne, endemic disease of the region, as well as malaria, measles and other preventable diseases.
"We must of course overcome the problem because of difficult road access, but we must above all mobilize the population as part of a broad communication campaign," said UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac.
Children "may die in a day" if they are not treated: WHO
As a first step, communities at risk will receive a dose of cholera vaccine providing protection against cholera for at least six months.
In addition to ensuring that a second dose of vaccine is available later this year, it is also essential to prevent people from drinking dirty water, insisted WHO. .
"Once a person is sick, it is of utmost importance to benefit from medical treatment," said Dr. Lindmeier. "It's a sad fact to remind everyone that young people, frail people and the elderly, especially children, if they catch cholera in the morning, they could be dead at night if they are not treated.
More rain expected as communities remain vulnerable
The spokesman for the WHO also warned that the difficult weather conditions continued to cause concern.
"Heavy rains should continue in the coming days and this will certainly have an impact on the response efforts," Lindmeier said. "Access to essential health services and the situation will probably worsen."
This development comes as the World Food Program (WFP) announces that it will also greatly intensify aid over the coming weeks through improved access for affected communities in rural areas in the four most affected provinces: Sofala, Manica, Tete and Zambezia.
Since the cyclone swept Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe three weeks ago with winds of more than 150 km / h, WFP has provided food assistance to 350,000 people.
"With the floodwaters receding, we hope to be able to provide food assistance to 1.2 million people over the coming week," said WFP spokesman Hervé Verhoosel. "This is a huge increase over the 350,000 people affected by the World Food Program at the beginning of the response," he added.
500 000 hectares of crops taken away
Latest assessments indicate that at least 500,000 hectares of crops, mostly maize, were washed away by floodwaters before the main harvest from April to May. Other key sources of income, such as livestock and fisheries, have also been hit hard, according to WFP. In the midst of the enormous needs and food prices that have quadrupled in Beira's markets since the cyclone, the UN agency has reiterated its call for $ 133 million over the next three months.
"Concerted Action" Needed to Prevent the Next Idai Disaster
Speaking in solidarity with the survivors of the disaster, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed paid tribute to the "local, national and international stakeholders" who offered their help "from the first moments of this crisis".
They saved "countless lives … preventing an even more devastating result," Mohammed said at a meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), while warning that the storm had "shaved thousands" houses and displaced more than 200,000 people, so far only $ 46 million on a $ 392 million appeal has been provided by the international community.
"I call on Member States to bridge this gap," she said, adding that sustained support would be needed to help people in the three Southeast Asian countries affected by the crisis. cope with Idai's "long-term developmental consequences".
No region was immune to devastating natural disasters, she noted, calling for better and smarter investments in disaster prediction and resilience, making sure to prioritize people the latest.
"Raise the ambitions for climate action – both for mitigation and for adaptation," she said, adding "that it is still time to win this race, but that it requires concerted action, now. "
Organized by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), WFP and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Special ECOSOC aimed to keep Member States informed about the impact of Hurricane Idai in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Participants also discussed how to support a well-coordinated response, focused on immediate humanitarian needs, as well as medium and long-term recovery and reconstruction after the hurricane.
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