Make a donation

Your browser is not up to date.

If you wish to view the Action Against Hunger website correctly, update your browser.
Find the latest versions of supported browsers listed below.

@ Action contre la Faim

Headline

Cyclone Idai

Preventing the malaria outbreak in Mozambique and Zimbabwe

Tropical Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique and Zimbabwe, leaving cities flooded, destroyed and populations in urgent need of assistance. Today, one month after the disaster, the situation is critical and humanitarian aid is essential. Many areas remain difficult to access and the death and disappearance toll continues to rise. In Mozambique, 140,000 people are displaced; the most affected city is Beira. Torrential rains and winds of more than 170 km/h caused enormous human and material damage. In total, there are 2 million people affected in both countries.

Road infrastructures as well as water supply and sanitation networks are severely damaged or even destroyed, which encourages the development of diseases such as cholera, malaria and typhoid fever.

We work with local actors such as Nutrition Action Zimbabwe (NAZ) in Zimbabwe and Kulima in Mozambique. We are also working with the support of the French organization Aquassistance to limit health risks and provide humanitarian aid to the affected populations.

Mozambique

Mozambique is no stranger to tropical storms, since the 2000s, more than 7 hurricanes have hit the country. Before the cyclone, the food situation was already problematic. Today, in addition to the obvious material damage caused by the storm, we are also identifying the long-term consequences.

The port city of Beira, the country’s second largest city, has been almost wiped off the map. It was home to 500,000 inhabitants before Cyclone Idai and is now 90% flooded. Most of the inhabitants have lost their homes, but also their land and crops.

A few weeks after the disaster, a cholera epidemic broke out with more than 3000 cases in 10 days. The most affected city is once again Beira, especially the Munhava district. This epidemic is worsening an already catastrophic situation.

We are working with the local organization Kulima to provide access to safe drinking water, one of the urgent priorities and an essential element to prevent the spread of the cholera epidemic in the country. Aquassistance, our partner, has supported us in the setting up of drinking water distribution stations. Our joint intervention has planned to help 24,000 people in the coming months.

 

Action Against Hunger is implementing an emergency program to provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene. We also install emergency latrines, and organize hygiene awareness sessions to spread the messages of good practices to limit the spread of cholera. 

Zimbabwe

The country has been experiencing an economic crisis for several months now and at the same time suffers from food insecurity caused by a poor harvest this year. More than half of the population lives in rural areas and a large majority are below the poverty line, at least 76% of the population. The destructive passage of the cyclone only aggravated an already precarious situation in a country where half the population is under 18 years old.

@ Action contre la Faim Cyclone Idai Mozambique et Zimbabwe

@ Action contre la Faim

@ Action contre la Faim Action contre la Faim

@ Action contre la Faim

@ Action contre la Faim @ Action contre la Faim

@ Action contre la Faim

1/3

The cyclone Idai had a major impact on the eastern part of the country, nearly 90,000 people are now homeless and almost 270,000 people need humanitarian assistance. On the field, thanks to our partnership with NAZ (Nutrition Action Zimbabwe), which was already operating in the area before the cyclone hit,we were able to focus on targeted actions in the affected areas like Chipinge and Chimanimani, . We are currently distributing necessities kits to 5,000 people. The kits are for hygiene (soap, bucket with lid, tap…); for cooking and contains cooking tools for the families and finally, to rehabilitate houses we distributed .

In the next three months, we will also coordinate an action with a local actor, Africa Ahead, to support the population and provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene.

 

 

Stay informed of our latest news

Your e-mail adress is used to send you newsletters from Action against Hunger.
You can unsubscribe at any moment by using the link of unsubscription in the newsletter.
To know more about your data management and your rights.