The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that more than 300 health facilities have been destroyed or flooded in Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique after Tropical Cyclone Freddy struck the region. The loss of these facilities leaves communities without adequate access to health services and heightens public‑health risks, including the spread of cholera, malaria, vaccine‑preventable diseases, COVID‑19, malnutrition, and the need for trauma and mental‑health support.
Freddy was an exceptionally long‑lived, powerful, and deadly storm that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for over five weeks in February and March 2023. It made a second landfall on the southern‑African coast on 11 March, causing widespread devastation in Malawi and Mozambique. In Malawi, more than 500 deaths have been confirmed, and the cyclone struck amid an ongoing cholera outbreak. While cholera is treatable with oral rehydration solution or intravenous fluids, controlling the disease requires investments in safe water and basic sanitation. Extreme weather events and conflicts have exacerbated cholera outbreaks in 14 African countries, forcing people to flee homes and live in precarious conditions. In Mozambique, cholera cases more than doubled in one week, rising from 1,023 to 2,374 as of 20 March. Conversely, Malawi’s worst‑ever cholera outbreak showed a decline, with cases falling to 1,424 on the same date, down from 1,956 the previous week.
The extensive flooding and infrastructure damage caused by the cyclone threaten to reverse recent progress against cholera. WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said that the double landfall within a month has had an “immense and deep‑felt” impact. While assessments continue, the priority is to provide immediate health assistance to affected families and to limit the spread of water‑borne diseases and other infections.
More than 1.4 million people across the three countries have been affected by the destruction of houses, schools, roads, and farmland. The strain on health facilities is severe, and increased humanitarian assistance is essential for coping with the crisis and eventual recovery. WHO and partner organizations are supporting national authorities in scaling up the disaster response. WHO has allocated $7.9 million, deployed over 60 experts, and shipped approximately 184 tons of laboratory, treatment, and other critical medical supplies to bolster the cyclone and cholera response. In Malawi, WHO has decentralized cholera response operation centres to hotspot districts and provided training to more than 1,500 health workers in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar on disease surveillance, clinical care, and community mobilisation.
Dr Moeti emphasized that, with the rise in climate‑related health emergencies in Africa, greater efforts are needed to strengthen preparedness for climatic hazards so that communities can better withstand the impacts of devastating natural disasters.
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