United Nations, .- More than a million and a half children urgently need humanitarian aid in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi after the passage of cyclone Idai, according to Unicef reported Wednesday, which asked donors 122 million dollars to support children affected by the disaster.
“The massive scale of the devastation caused by cyclone Idai is becoming clearer every day,” Henrietta Fore, executive director of the UN Children’s Agency, said in a statement.
Fore warned that the lives of millions of children and families “are at stake”, so it is necessary to quickly develop an effective humanitarian response in the three African countries.
The $ 122 million requested by Unicef would serve to support its actions in the area over the next nine months, according to the statement.
The agency insisted on the importance of acting as soon as possible, given that there is little time to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as malaria or cholera, to which the smallest are especially vulnerable.
In addition, Unicef expressed concern about the risk of violence and abuse against women and children in the temporary shelters that host them, as well as the situation of children who have lost their families in the cyclone.
In Mozambique, the most affected country, an estimated 1.85 million people – including one million children – urgently need help and will require long-term support for the destruction of crops.
In Malawi, more than 869,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, including 443,000 children, while in Zimbabwe those affected reach 270,000, half of them children, according to Unicef.
Other UN agencies are also working on the response, including the Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), which on Wednesday took to Maputo the first of three planes with emergency equipment, according to the United Nations.
The equipment, which includes tents, mats, mosquito nets or lighting, will be distributed among 30,000 people in the three countries.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) is distributing supplies to treat diseases such as diarrhea and cholera and launching a team of experts who will travel to Mozambique to help prevent outbreaks. (EFEUSA)
