[1/4] Members of the Malawian Armed Forces and local residents assist a community in assisting the recovery of bodies of victims in Chimwankunda Township, affected by tropical Cyclone Freddy, Blantyre, Malawi, March 17, 2023.
CAPE TOWN, May 15 (Reuters) – Malawi on Monday vaccinated more than 9 million children against several life-threatening diseases to prevent a health crisis caused by deadly Cyclone Freddy. A large-scale vaccination campaign was started.
cyclone is dead 1,000 or more According to the President of Malawi, in the southern African country. It was one of the worst storms to hit Africa in recent memory, hitting Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar in late February and March.
According to partners such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Global Vaccine Alliance GAVI, the week-long nationwide vaccination program will target children up to the age of 15 and distribute vaccines against typhoid fever, measles, rubella and polio.
In a joint statement, the agencies said children would also be provided with vitamin A supplements, adding that typhoid vaccines for infants would be regularly available at health centers across the country immediately after the campaign.
The operation was already planned before the storm, they said, but it was especially important after the storm, as destruction and evacuation could increase the risk of illness.
“Malawi has shown remarkable resilience in the aftermath of the devastating cyclone,” said Tabani Mafosa, GAVI’s managing director of country program delivery, in a statement.
“We will be one of the first countries in the world to not only introduce a new vaccine, which is by no means an easy task, but also to make a life-saving typhoid conjugate vaccine available to children on a regular basis,” he added. .
Caused by bacteria, typhoid fever is usually spread by ingesting contaminated food or water and can be fatal. Health officials said natural disasters and displacement increased the risk of typhoid outbreaks, especially in countries like Malawi where typhoid fever is endemic.
“This is an important step for Malawi,” said WHO Regional Director for Africa Machidiso Moeti.
Reported by Wendell Roelf.Editing: Nellie Payton and Bill Barclot
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