Cholera fears rise as cyclone batters hotspots

Families and children displaced by Cyclone Freddy in Malawi face the risk of an unprecedented cholera outbreak due to lack of running water, poor sanitation facilities and open defaecation in camps.

The breakdown in sanition and hygiene fuels fears of waterborne diseases, Save the Children warned.

The country was already facing its worst cholera outbreak on record before the cyclone hit last week.

About 17 people have been dying # daily in the past seven days alone, bringing  the total number of deaths since March 2022 to about 1 660.

Save the Children has deployed an emergency health Unit, with specialised doctors and nurses, to assist in the cholera outbreak.

However, this team is now busy treating people injured by falling trees, landslides and flash floods after Cyclone Freddy’s second landfall.

Palal Areman, Save the Children deputy operations team lead for  the emergency health unit in Blantyre said: “The country was dealing with a big situation with the cholera outbreak and resources had been stretched.

“With Cyclone Freddy hitting, the normal heath care routine is completely disrupted.  Children are traumatised by the cyclone, they were brought to hospital with head injuries, broken limbs, and bruises, while others looked worried or had no family members.

Among other things, temporary tents put up to treat cholera patients have been destroyed, putting medical services out of reach for many.

“I think in the long-term, with water disruption, the pipes broken and water contamination highly likely, cholera cases will most certainly go up,” Areman explained. 

Cyclone Freddy has broken records for the number of times it has re-intensified, hitting Southern Africa for the second time in a month on Saturday.

At least 499 people have been killed and over 300 are still missing, according to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs.

Save the Children teams are reporting that the situation remains difficult as several rivers have broken their banks and torrential rains continue to pound affected districts. Blocked roads have hampered search and rescue efforts. 

Over 490 000 people, more than half of them children, have fled their homes due to storm and flood damage, leaving them without food and a feeling of safety.

A 16-year-old child in Blantyre, one of the worst-hit areas of Malawi, said: “As I am speaking, we don’t have food to eat, and we are living in fear because we don’t really know what happens next and we feel we are no longer safe.”

There are also concerns about when children might be able to return to school.

Chrissy, a 14-year-school-going girl in the city said she felt lucky that she was outside her home when the floods came.

She explained: “We have been spared, but some of my clothes have gone, my school books have been soaked and damaged and I don’t know how I will be able to continue learning once the schools open because I don’t have any materials.

“Our house survived the heavy rains and damaging winds as the tropical cyclone made landfall Sunday 12th March, only to end up destroying it the following day. It will be very tough to rebuild our lives.”

Save the Children said funds are needed to ensure children get back to school and provide sanitation and hygiene activities to prevent increasing numbers of cholera cases.

Fears are gaining sway that over half of those in camps are children and could be severely impacted.

 Save the Children Malawi country director, Ashebir Debebe said: “Children and their families have experienced tragedy upon tragedy, with the worst cholera outbreak on record, followed by Cyclone Freddy which has hit many areas twice in one month.

“We’re deeply concerned that flash flooding because of the cyclone will exacerbate the existing crisis. Thousands have had to leave their homes, and urgently need humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food and safe drinking water.

“Tropical storms and cyclones have intensified as a result global warming.

“It’s unfair that countries like Malawi are bearing the brunt of a climate crisis caused by the world’s richest countries.”

Save the Children Malawi has been responding to the cholera outbreak in four affected districts. The aid organisation is calling for an urgent injection of funds to avert a secondary crisis.

The organisation will also work with the government to trace caregivers of unaccompanied children and ensure children who are separated from their caregivers receive care and protection services, including psychological first aid.

The international non-governmental organisation has been in Malawi since 1983 and currently works in 20 of the country’s  28 districts in areas of health, education, food and livelihoods security and child protection.—Save the Children