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The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it has shipped 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine to Mozambique, where access to clean drinking water is a key issue, 11 days after Cyclone Idai hit south-eastern Africa.
WHO Mozambique Representative, Djamila Cabral, said in Geneva that the world body was preparing to treat widespread diarrhoeal disease in areas hit by the cyclone.
Cabral said “families, pregnant women and babies are living in temporary camps in horrific conditions without secure food supplies or safe drinking water and sanitation.”
The organisation was also preparing for a spike in malaria in the coming weeks by procuring 900,000 insecticide-treated bed nets to protect affected families, Cabral added.
The representative noted that intense rescue operations continued on Tuesday in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, where cyclone Idai killed more than 700 people and displaced about 600,000 others.
The death toll is expected to rise as the floodwaters recede and more people reached by response teams, according to the UN.
At least three million people, including one million children, have been affected by the cyclone, which destroyed homes and caused widespread flooding, the UN added. (dpa/NAN)
