Cyclone Freddy plunges Mozambique into worst cholera in 10 years
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In an attempt to tame the number of cases, more than 715,000 people received a single shot of the cholera vaccine.
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Sisters Paula, Sonia, and Renata in the Manhaua neighborhood in the city of Quelimane. on March 11, 2023 (UNICEF)
The World Health Organization announced on Friday that as a result of the destructive Cyclone Freddy, Mozambique is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in more than 10 years.
Severin von Xylander, the organization's representative in the country, stated, "While cholera outbreaks regularly occur in Mozambique between October to April, with almost 21,000 cases and 95 deaths, this is the largest outbreak in more than a decade," adding that it is "expanding geographically".
Eight out of the 11 provinces in the country have been hit, but Quelimane is the worst-affected city.
In the last 24 hours, cholera treatment centers have received 132 cases, and 350 people have been seen for cholera care.
"After the landfall of Freddy, the number of cases exploded from less than 20 a day and increased tenfold" in Quelimane, according to Von Xylander.
In an attempt to tame the number of cases, the first cholera vaccination campaign was launched in February in which more than 715,000 people received a single shot, then Thursday witnessed a second campaign of vaccines in Quelimane, giving shots to 410,000 people.
There is a current additional 1.35 million people targeted to receive vaccines.
'Raising the alarm for a concerning situation'
Besides cholera, four other health emergencies emerged after Cyclone Freddy hit landfall: flooding, polio, Covid-19, and a pre-existing humanitarian crisis.
On top of the ongoing health crises, Cyclone Freddy has also caused infrastructure damage such as the destruction of more than 132,000 homes and "challenging" access to safe water.
"In the coming weeks, the number of malaria cases will drastically increase and the malnutrition rate -- already very high -- will go up," said Von Xylander, adding, "I don't intend this brief to be a scaremonger, but I hope to raise the alarm for a concerning situation currently lived here by millions of individuals."
The World Meteorological Organization has called cyclone Freddy one of the strongest storms ever to date in the southern hemisphere and could prove to be the longest to last after landing in Mozambique and Malawi.
In Malawi alone, 190 have been killed as a result of the storm, per local authorities, adding that 584 are injured and 37 people are declared missing.
