Maputo, 14 Mar (AIM) – The strong winds, torrential rains and flash floods that hit northern Mozambique following the passage of tropical cyclone Jude may affect 747,000 people after 20,000 houses were destroyed, especially in Nampula province.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), half of these 747,000 people are children.
“The third cyclone to hit Mozambique in recent months destroyed schools, cutting off access to education for around 20,000 children. An estimated 747,000 people, half of them children, could be affected by the strong winds, torrential rains and flash floods that hit the provinces of Nampula, Niassa and Zambézia this week”, reads the statement.
“The severe flooding is exacerbating the risk of water-borne diseases, including cholera and diarrhoea – major threats to children’s lives. Meanwhile, severe damage to the main roads is disrupting the distribution of essential goods”, says the note.
UNICEF explains that this comes at a time when over 730,000 Mozambicans were already suffering the devastating impact of tropical cyclones Chido and Dikeledi, which destroyed or damaged more than 150,000 homes, 471 schools and 100 health facilities.
“The impact of Cyclone Jude on hundreds of thousands of children and families already affected by Cyclones Chido and Dikeledi is devastating. Extreme winds and heavy rains have destroyed critical infrastructure and are depriving vulnerable children of essential services, said Mary Louise Eagleton, UNICEF Representative in Mozambique, cited in the note.
The organization said that it is working with various partners and the Government to respond and meet the needs of those affected, “but having already responded to two cyclones in the space of just a few months, we are overwhelmed and urgently need additional resources.”
According to the note, the crisis exceeds current resources “in a country where 3.4 million children were already in need of humanitarian assistance, and the current cyclone season could last another six weeks.”
UNICEF is calling on donors, governments and the international community to urgently increase and maintain funding for education and emergency response efforts “because without immediate intervention, the future of an entire generation of Mozambican children is at risk”.
(AIM)
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