from ARIMANDO DOMINGOS in Maputo, Mozambique
MAPUTO, (CAJ News) – MORE than 600 health care workers have fled northern Mozambique because of the terror attacks launched by Islamist extremists.
Some 25 health facilities have closed.
This has worsened the crisis in the province of Cabo Delgado where outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea are worsening.
The limited healthcare access is especially felt among children, who are mostly affected by the diseases.
According to the National Institute of Disaster Management (abbreviated locally as INGC), conflict in the province and the central region, where militants thought to be of the opposition Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), has internally displaced approximately 368 000 people.
The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) warned that drought and these conflicts were driving an atypically early start of the lean season, when household food stocks deplete.
Meanwhile, Mozambique is also bearing the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak.
As of the end of September, the Southern African country had a 6,3 percent test positivity rate, and 8 728 confirmed cases.
This included 61 deaths.
INGC noted that despite some relaxation in COVID-19 control measures, the most vulnerable households, especially in urban and peri-urban areas continue to have difficulty obtaining sufficient food and income.
Cabo Delgado has been the epicentre of terror attacks since 2017.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project reports that the banditry has left an estimated 2 500 people dead.
– CAJ News