Fears mount over cholera crisis in Mozambique
Gift of the Givers is concerned about the spread of cholera in Mozambique following the devastation caused by cyclone Idai in March.
More than a thousand cholera infections have been confirmed - mostly in the Beira area, where the storm unleashed hurricane force winds and rain that flooded through much of the coastal city.
Cyclone Idai killed more than 700 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, leaving up to a million people displaced.
Cholera is feared to have gripped the Beira area, where drinking water and food could have been contaminated.
A massive vaccination campaign has been rolled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to assist those infected by the cholera disease.
Gift of Givers, together with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), has been assisting Mozambique in the aftermath of the deadly storm.
Also Read: Cholera cases mount to over 1,000 in cyclone-hit Mozambique
Doctor Imtiaz Sooliman from Gift of the Givers says the WHO has been trying to arrange 900, 000 doses of vaccination.
"They (WHO) are thinking now of varietally vaccinating everybody involved in Beira itself. They are expecting the vaccines to come in anytime this week.
"We have spoken to the advisor of health on many occasions and he said the biggest anxiety is cholera spreading in Beira itself, Beira being a city of 500 000 people buying fish, buying vegetables, a sewerage system that is not functioning so well.
"This could be a recipe for a major disaster, " Sooliman said.
He adds it will take a long time before the city of Beira gets back to where it was.
"It's going to take a long, long time especially when you don't have money if you fly over Beira you can't find places where there is a roof, almost every area, every house, every building has been affected."