2600 School Classrooms Affected By Cyclone Idai

According to initial government estimates, 1.8 million people across the country, including 900,000 children, had been affected by the cyclone which slammed into the country last week.

 

 

 

 

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) revealed that at least one million children have been affected by Cyclone Idai and subsequent floods in Mozambique, and the actual numbers are feared to be much higher.

“We are in a race against time to help and protect children in the disaster-ravaged areas of Mozambique,” Unicef executive director Henrietta Fore said in a statement after a visit to Beira in Mozambique, one of the areas worst affected by Cyclone Idai.

 

 

 

 

 

However, many areas were still not accessible and Unicef and partners on the ground know that the final numbers would be much higher, she said.

Unicef was concerned that flooding, combined with overcrowded conditions in shelters, poor hygiene, stagnant water, and infected water sources, was putting them at risk of diseases such as cholera, malaria, and diarrhoea.

 

 

 

 

 

Initial assessments in Beira indicated that more than 2600 school classrooms had been destroyed and 39 health centers impacted. At least 11,000 houses had been totally destroyed. “This will have serious consequences on children’s education, access to health services, and mental well-being,” Fore said.

 

 

 

 

In Beira, Fore visited a school which had been turned into a shelter for displaced families. Classrooms were converted into overcrowded bedrooms with limited access to water and sanitation.