I’m head of mission and I’ve just returned from 10 days in Mozambique. My first stop was of course Beira, where my colleagues have been since the cyclone hit.

Back from the field

Corinne Torre

MSF Head of Mission

Beira has sustained considerable damage and humanitarian aid has been deployed on a very large scale. There are lots of international NG0s, not just MSF. That’s what decided us to focus on people living in more rural areas. We wanted to find out what the situation was in Sofala province and draw up a needs assessment in case we were called in to assist.

The cyclone hit Sofala province too. When the road from Beira to Nhamatanda that was impassable re-opened, what struck us most was the extent of the flooding. People who’ve lost their homes continue to have to live outside, with no tents and no food distributions. There’s still a possibility of them drinking stagnant swamp water, so there could be suspected cholera cases. That’s why when we got to the town of Tica, which is still under water, we decided to assist the health centre and open a cholera treatment unit to be prepared.

The objective is to continue evaluating health centres as the Ministry of Health has requested. We need to check them out and deal with any that have been destroyed or damaged. Our evaluation is both logistical and medical… The other objective, again with the Ministry of Health’s agreement, is to provide support with a vaccination campaign launched on 4 April—a nationwide vaccination campaign to protect people against cholera.

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