Major cholera risk after Cyclone Chido: clean water crucial for survival, WaterAid stresses

Cyclone Chido, the latest tropical storm to hit Mozambique after the island of Mayotte, heralds the risk of yet another devasting outbreak of cholera as cases are expected to escalate. Sanitation facilities have been flooded and destroyed which contaminates the drinking water. Many northern parts of the country are now in danger of becoming hotspots for this acute diarroheal disease, warns WaterAid.

Having destroyed much of the capital of Mayotte, Chido moved on to Mozambique where it was still “one of the most intense storms ever recorded”, according to the country’s National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (INGD). It has left the country reeling, sparking a new cholera threat, the international charity warns.

So far across the three affected provinces in Mozambique – Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa – 73 people have died and over 700 were severely injured by the cyclone – incidents that are likely to increase as over 34,000 families have been left homeless and 650,000 children confirmed at risk. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that 190,000 people are in urgent need of help as access to clean water becomes a major challenge.

As for infrastructure, the National Institute for Disasters Management has so far confirmed that 36,207 houses, 48 hospital units, 13 houses of worship, 186 power poles, 9 water systems and 171 boats have been destroyed. A further 149 schools, 15,429 pupils and 224 teachers have been affected.

Cyclone Chido has caused significant damage to Water and Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in the districts of Mongicual, Erati, Lalaua, Mecuburi, Nacala Porto, Memba and Mossuril. WaterAid Mozambique is working tirelessly in the impacted areas of Niassa and Nampula, where their projects have prioritised vital climate-resilient water and sanitation facilities designed to withstand the consequences of extreme weather events and protect communities from disease outbreaks.  

Gaspar Sitefane, WaterAid Mozambique’s Country Director, said:

“We’re seeing a public health emergency develop before our eyes, as the risk of cholera is expected to escalate in the wake of Cyclone Chido. The consequences of this severe storm have highlighted once again the urgent need to improve water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in climate vulnerable regions.  

“We know that extreme weather events, fragile sanitation systems and limited access to clean water all exacerbate Mozambique's vulnerabilities to diarrhoeal diseases, especially cholera. Our country’s current political instability is also impeding healthcare infrastructure, hampered by logistical difficulties due to the unrest.

“It’s a travesty to see history repeating itself: cholera can be easily controlled given the right investment and political will. Precious lives will be lost without a rapidly coordinated response.”

Chido was the most extreme storm to hit the northern territory of Mozambique in more than 90 years. More cyclones are likely to continue to batter Mozambique and its neighbours over the next three months, compounding the devastation felt earlier this year when Cyclone Freddy caused over 180 deaths, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).  

Brand new WaterAid research published this month shows that clean water facilities in Southern Africa could eradicate cholera and reduce diarrhoeal diseases by 50%, saving 4,000 lives annually in Malawi and Zambia, Mozambique's neighbouring countries, as well as its economies over a billion dollars a year.

WaterAid has warned that, while it is important to deal with the current emergency, global and local leaders must also allocate adequate financial and human resources to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. This will address the longer-term infrastructure issues and ensure communities can remain healthy and strong against extreme weather events, like Cyclone Chido.  

ENDS

For more information and to book in an interview, please contact:

London: call WaterAid’s press line on 020 7793 4537, or email [email protected]

Mozambique: email Arao Jose Valoi [email protected]

Notes to editors

About WaterAid

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. We work alongside communities in 22 countries to secure these three essentials that transform people’s lives. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 29 million people with clean water and nearly 29 million people with decent toilets.

For more information, visit our website wateraid.org/uk; follow us on Twitter @WaterAidUK, @WaterAid or @WaterAidPress; or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.

• 703 million people in the world – almost one in ten – don’t have clean water close to home.
• 2.2 billion people in the world – more than one in four – don’t have safe water.
• Almost 2 billion people in the world – one in four – lack soap and/or water to wash their hands at home, if they have a place at all.
• 1.5 billion people in the world – almost one in five – don’t have a decent toilet of their own.
• 570 million people in the world – 1 in 14 – have a decent toilet but have to share it with people outside their family. This compromises the privacy, dignity and safety of women and girls.
• Almost 400,000 children under five die every year due to diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. That's more than 1000 children a day, or almost one child every one and a half minutes.
• Investing in safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services provides up to 21 times more value than it costs.

1: WHO/UNICEF (2023), Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: special focus on gender (accessed 11 Jul 2023)

2: WHO (2023), Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update (accessed 24 Jul 2023)

3: WaterAid (2021), Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery (accessed 1 Nov 2023).