Mozambique: ICRC director of operations says combined impact of conflict and extreme weather in Cabo Delgado threaten public health

Massive displacement in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique's northern province, has put an enormous strain on existing water and health facilities, some of which were previously damaged by extreme weather events. As a result, a concerning shortage of safe water, sanitation and health services is a looming threat to public health for displaced people and host communities.

 "A lot of people depend on this type of water and this is definitely not to any standards of public health,” said Dominik Stillhart, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who is completing a three-day visit to Cabo Delgado. "I think it is very important to pay very serious attention to what is happening here, especially in the North of Mozambique."

 Mozambique has increasingly been facing the compounded impact of armed conflict and climate change in recent years, which takes a toll on people's health. Recurring and more frequent cyclones and floods have damaged health and water facilities, such as the hospital on Ibo, which was the only health facility serving the archipelago. More than 800,000 people, one-third of the province's entire population, have fled their homes due to the escalation of the armed conflict, finding shelter in urban areas and on the islands. Displaced people frequently settle down in city outskirts, outside the coverage of the water distribution systems.

 Rapid population movement and limited access to safe water sources in precarious settlements led to the rise of waterborne diseases like cholera and diarrhea. The ICRC has observed a correlation between the concentration of groups of displaced people, the absence of protected water sources and the spread of waterborne diseases. According to WHO, the number of cholera cases in Cabo Delgado at the beginning of August 2021 was 3,400, compared to approximately 2,200 from the same period last year. In the first semester of 2021, 28,602 cases of diarrhea have been registered in the province, of which 40% of cases were registered in districts where ICRC has focused its work, such as Montepuez and Ibo islands. Diarrhea has become the second cause of death among children under five. COVID represents an additional risk, partially associated with the lack of hygiene.

 A lack of functioning health facilities reduced the capacity of the health system to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. 80% of health centres in the nine most conflict-affected northern districts of Cabo Delgado are not functioning. The already fragile health infrastructure has been further weakened as a result of the armed conflict, even as the demand for health services increased by 20% to 30% in southern areas of Cabo Delgado province that have been receiving displaced people. The overstretched health facilities have been struggling with the shortage of space, overcrowding, and lack of staff and medical supplies.

 The ICRC is working with local authorities to rehabilitate the existing water and health infrastructures, as well as build new ones, to improve access to health and clean water and prevent the spread of deadly diseases, both on the mainland -- for instance in the city of Montepuez -- as well as on the islands. The ICRC is constructing a new hospital on Ibo which will serve the entire 30-island archipelago. Because the coastal areas of Mozambique are vulnerable to climate shocks, all of ICRC’s new rehabilitation and construction projects are systematically conceived and built with resilient infrastructure to prevent as much as possible potential damage by natural catastrophes.

For further information, please contact:

Alyona Synenko: aynenko@icrc.org  or +254 716 897265

SHOTLIST

Location:  Montepuez

Length: 5.55 min

Format:

Cameraperson:  Mark Kamau

Producer: Mark Kamau

ICRC ref: e.g. 

Filming date:  07.10.2021

Copyright: ICRC access all

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Montepuez, Northern Mozambique. Various shots, women and children drawing water from a pond.

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Interview: Mendinha, Resident Montepuez.

I come from far away.

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I take one hour walking here.

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We live six people at home. This water is for drinking, the water is also good for washing clothes and dishes, but we mostly collect it for drinking.

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Medium shot of murky water

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Medium shot.  A young girl scooping water into a basin

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Long shot.  A woman filling a jerrycan with water.

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Interview: Dominik Stillhart, Director of Operations, ICRC. Well you can really see the impact of the increased number of people

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There is only one spring and we are the end of the dry season.

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People from all over this part of town

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with many IDP's they have to walk up to an hour,

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to fetch water from here, this is the only spring.

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and you can see its an unprotected spring,

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there is washing going on,

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and you can really see here why for instance cholera is such a big issue in this town.

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A lot of people depend on this type of water and you can see for yourself,

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this is definitely not to any standards of public health.

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Matemo island, Northern Mozambique. Various shot. Dirty water around a well.

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Montepuez, Northern Mozambique.  Various shots. Women washing clothes.

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Montepuez, Northern Mozambique.  Various shots. Construction of a new health centre wing.

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Interview: Angel Carballo, Engineer, ICRC.

We find already areas which were

extremely vulnerable

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which were already struggling to deliver

service to the existing resident population,

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and now they see this

massive arrival population

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so there are obviously two axis where this manifests in the most dramatic way

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one is the health services

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and the other is water supply.

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Matemo island, Northern Mozambique. Medium shot. Woman with baby on the back strains as she pumps water into a bucket.

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Medium shot. A young man helps lift buckets of water for women balancing them on their heads.

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Longshot into medium shot into close up.  Two women and a boy, balancing water on their heads walk towards the camera. Other women walk into the shot on their way to the well. Camera pans to stay with original women.

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Follow shot. Camera follows women balancing water containers on their heads as they walk a bushy path.

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Interview: Dominik Stillhart, Director of Operations, ICRC. I think it is very important to pay very serious attention

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to what is happening here especially in the North of Mozambique.

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This is a situation that has taken a very very high toll on many people.

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We spoke to some people here who have been displaced multiple times,

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in the past 12-18 months;

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and there is a very serious need to provide more support here

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in this area of North of Mozambique.

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Montepuez,  Northern Mozambique.  Various shots  drilling of new bore hole.

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Montepuez,  Northern Mozambique.  Young women drawing water from ICRC rehabilitated well.

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Montepuez,  Northern Mozambique.  Various shots  building of health centres

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Montepuez,  Northern Mozambique.  Various shots ICRC's Director of Operations  inspecting progress of a health centre's new wing construction

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Moantepuez, Northern Mozambique.  A boy and two women carrying water inside  a camp.

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Quirambo Island, Various shots of broken water pump

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 Various shots. Sandy water well.

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Metuge, Northern Mozambique.  Women drawing water from shallow wells.

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Montepuez,  Northern Mozambique. Medium Shot.  A young girl balances a bucket of water on her head, WALKS AWAY and camera pans.