Tropical Storm Ana wreaks havoc for children in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, warns UNICEF

 

UNICEF is warning that the powerful winds and torrential rains unleashed on southeastern Africa by Tropical Storm Ana have disrupted the lives of thousands of children in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

While Ana, which was the first cyclone-type storm of the season for the region, has since died out, the UN body points out that the rains continue to fall across swathes of the four countries, while water levels in already-flooded areas are in some cases continuing to rise.

In Mozambique, where insecurity continues to negatively impact child nutrition, the fallout from the tropical storm is compounding existing challenges. UNICEF estimates that 21,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, many of them children. Damage to infrastructure is having an outsized impact on young survivors, with at least 77 classrooms and six health centers damaged or destroyed by the storm, leaving 2,000 students out of school and communities without access to health services.

The UN body is calling for increased support from the international community to provide help to the children and communities in need, while also calling for more advanced preparedness to soften the blow of future natural disasters, which have only grown more frequent and intense with climate change trends.