Dear Donors and Partners,
I write with unfortunate news. As you may already be aware, communities in Southern Malawi and Central Mozambique, where VillageReach works, are in turmoil right now. Cyclone Freddy - a record-breaking cyclone - made its way through both countries over the last 48 hours. VillageReach is happy to report that all our staff and their families are safe and accounted for, but the damage is massive, and the impact on the people living in these two areas is devastating.
The death toll and the number of missing people in each country are rising, and rains are expected to continue over the next day or two. In Malawi, at least 190 people are confirmed dead and the president has called a state of disaster. Recent communication reports state that over 4,000 people are missing.
With flooding, there is a strong possibility of an increase in Malawi’s already deadly cholera outbreak and a new outbreak in Mozambique. There will be an immediate and increasing need for mental health and psychosocial support services. Malawi’s national hotline (established with support from VillageReach) was affected when the country’s power was interrupted. The hotline is used for both emergency medical services as well as provision of health information and mental health support. We hope to see this back online in the coming hours.
What is VillageReach doing?
Given our deep relationships with government, VillageReach teams are already engaged with the Ministries of Health in both countries and other partners to identify priorities, address them, and fill gaps to ensure health services are where they need to be. Restoring access to essential services, including health and nutrition, sanitation and hygiene services, is a priority.
One of our focal provinces in Mozambique, Zambezia province, suffered significant damage. And in Malawi, five of the districts where we work are also impacted. These are places where we are well-positioned to provide support to communities and the health sector.
In both countries, we are working with the government and partners through the health cluster and other response mechanisms to determine the government’s most pressing needs. Based on these, we are working to see where we can leverage our existing programs and solutions and our network of partnerships to support the government. The areas of support include:
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Restore the national hotline in Malawi so it can support the emergency response
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Support the distribution of life-saving commodities to the areas most in need
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Work with our network of global partners to procure donated equipment and supplies needed by the Ministries of Health
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Explore repurposing of drone transport to areas that are cut off to ensure that vaccines and medicines are available
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Support surge capacity for telehealth services in both countries, including helping to adjust call centers to provide emergency information quickly and updated health information to callers
If you are interested in supporting VillageReach’s community and health sector response to Cyclone Freddy, please contact Kerry Jones (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) on our Development Team to discuss how you can provide resources to the response.
Thanks so much,
Emily Bancroft
