Author: Donald G. McNeil Jr. / Source: New York Times
Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Associated Press
A wide swath of Mozambique devastated by Cyclone Idai two weeks ago is now at a tipping point, humanitarian agencies said on Tuesday.
About two million people have seen their homes or crops destroyed, and cholera is spreading fast.
Malaria, measles and starvation may follow unless help reaches enough people quickly.At the same time, there are encouraging signs: 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine arrived on Tuesday, and a vaccination campaign is to start on Wednesday.
Water service has been restored to large portions of Beira, a coastal city of 500,000 people. More than 700,000 mosquito nets are being shipped in an effort to forestall a malaria outbreak.
The main road to Maputo, the capital, was reopened five days ago, and other roads are being repaired, so large shipments of food are arriving.
“Most of our operation has switched to land, so we can move a lot more,” Robert A. Holden, an emergency officer with the World Health Organization, said in a telephone interview. “There are still some areas in the north we can only reach by helicopter, and some where we’re still using boats. It’s a real tapestry of land, air and sea capabilities.”
Oxfam, CARE and Save the Children jointly sent boats on Tuesday to Buzi, an area southwest of Beira with no clean water or sanitation, said Dorothy Sang, Oxfam’s local humanitarian campaign manager.
The boats carried hand-operated pump filters, water-storage bladders, latrine slabs (pit covers that users squat on), tarps, soap and other supplies.
But the situation is still perilous. The W.H.O. has asked for $40 million to cover operations in Mozambique for the next three months. Other agencies have made their own financial appeals.
The United Nations estimated last week that the storm killed about 500 people in Mozambique, about 250 in Zimbabwe, and about 60 in Malawi. Whole villages with thousands of residents were flooded, so more bodies may yet be found.
Cholera, usually transmitted in contaminated water, is rapidly spreading. The Mozambique government said Tuesday that it had recorded more than 1,000 cases, including one death.
Aid officials…
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