MAPUTO – 8 October 2019 As the health response to cyclones Idai and Kenneth transition into the recovery phase, WHO would like to acknowledge and thank the donors and partners involved in the health response thus far.

“WHO Mozambique is very grateful for the support over the past eight months in response to the level 3 health emergencies this country has been facing,“ said Dr. Djamila Cabral WHO Representative in Mozambique.

“The support has filled a critical gap in immediate and medium-term needs for the health response and has saved lives. We keenly await further funding from the international community to sustain health system recovery, building back better and supporting contingency planning and preparedness to avoid health catastrophes next year and beyond.”

As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, Mozambique’s health system urgently requires improved resilience to inevitable future disasters. 

The contributions provided to date by national and international partners to the many actors working in support of the emergency response has enabled disease detection to stop outbreaks before they occur, combat malaria, deliver basic medical kits and other supplies to remote areas, provide 14,178 consultations by emergency medical teams and vaccinate over 900,000 people against cholera.

$41.5 million is still needed to meet health sector needs as outlined in the Humanitarian Response Plan, including expanding disease surveillance, prepositioning essential medicines and medical supplies, managing severe and acute malnutrition and moving services from tents back into buildings for 1.1 million people up to May 2020.