The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warns of the risk of spreading diseases, especially among children, after the passage of Cyclone Jude, which has been affecting Mozambique since Monday (10), causing four deaths and 18 injuries in the province of Nampula..

According to UNICEF's Head of Communications and Partnerships, Guy Taylor, who was speaking in an interview with UN News, quoted by DWThe humanitarian response capacities in Mozambique have been overwhelmed following the cyclones in December and January. And children are particularly vulnerable.

In addition to widespread damage to infrastructure, flooding and power cuts, the passage of Tropical Cyclone Jude raises concerns about children's health, since floods increase the risk of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and malaria.

Guy Taylor, was concerned that almost all the river basins and dams in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia were already full, and predicted "serious" and "inevitable" flooding.

"This is a very worrying situation in a country where we already have around 3.4 million children in humanitarian need. This is going to make their lives much worse," he warned.

As a result of the cyclone, UNICEF, which has been working with the Mozambican government to distribute emergency aid kits, estimates that 1,200 schools and around 120 health facilities will be damaged or destroyed.

This Tuesday, UNICEF announced the allocation of an emergency fund of 5.5 million euros to support the victims of Cyclone Jude.

According to preliminary data released by the National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD), Cyclone Jude destroyed 380 houses and 27 schools in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia.

This is the third extreme event in four months and the fear is that it will have even greater impacts, particularly on children's health.

Extreme events, such as cyclones, will cause more than a thousand deaths in Mozambique between 2019 and 2023, affecting around 4.9 million people, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

(Photo DR)