The Canadian Red Cross is sending an emergency field hospital and a team of 25 Canadian health workers to battle a growing crisis in Mozambique as stagnant water spreads across 3,000 square kilometres of the country after a devastating cyclone.
About 55 health centres in the country have been severely damaged, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The WHO is sending 900,000 doses of cholera vaccines and 900,000 bed-nets to Mozambique to protect against an expected surge in cholera and malaria cases.
“We want to prevent a second disaster from happening,” said Chiran Livera, operations manager at the Canadian Red Cross. “There are normally seven operating theatres at the central hospital, but six of them are not functional,” Mr. Livera said. “The roof is leaking, there’s water coming in, and there’s suspected mold that is building up because of the water. So it’s really operating at low capacity.”