MOZAMBIQUE. Carbo Delgado: The International Committee of the Red Cross has earlier this week warned of a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique’s northern province of Carbo Delgado.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president, Peter Maure, raised the alarm at the end of his tour of the region on February 15.
Maure said that Carbo Delgado is facing a battle of three fronts: environmental catastrophe, conflict, and disease.
“The people of Mozambique are today facing a triple humanitarian crisis with persistent threats due to climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and armed conflict. We remain at the side of Mozambique in these challenging times and will scale up our support,” said Peter Maurer, the ICRC’s President in a statement sent to newsrooms.
See also: Cyclone Eloise Made Landfall In Mozambique
Apart from violence and diseases, Cyclone Eloise had also hit the province.
According to an assessment by ICRC 700 health workers had fled Carbo Delgado, while 39 out of 55 hospitals are not operating.
Maure added that the committee plans to rehabilitate nine primary health facilities in 2021.
“In 2021, the ICRC will rehabilitate nine primary health facilities serving more than 175,400 patients in Pemba, and support hospitals in Montepuez and Pemba specialized in the treatment of trauma wounds”, read the statement.
In May 2020, in Macomia district an entire village fled the conflict in which Islamic extremists are fighting Mozambique government soldiers.
The Red Cross has been working Mozambique for forty years.
More than 500,000 people have fled the upsurge of violence in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since the beginning of 2019. Most of them have fled to urban settings, such as Pemba, Montepuez and Metuge, putting additional strain on fragile communities and infrastructure, including medical services, according to the Red Cross.
“Health facilities and staff have been double victims of Cyclone Kenneth and the violence which has seen the flight of healthcare workers and the destruction of more facilities, including those rehabilitated post-cyclone,” said President Maurer.
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