Cyclone Idai: Relief camps for flood victims under pressure

Two weeks after Idai struck, some 20 doctors and health workers traveled to accomodation centers in Dhugudiua and Namitangurine. The latter houses the biggest populations of displaced flood victims in Zambezia province. The health professionals are carrying out routine checkups in an effort to control the spread of disease.

Many of those taking shelter in Dhugudiua suffer from respiratory diseases, malaria or diarrhea. About 30 people receive medical treatment daily in the facility, which was set up in March in the aftermath of the flooding. Health authorities say the majority of those displaced by Cyclone Idai have some kind of health problem.

It's increasingly difficult for people to find a space in a tent at the Namitangurine accommodation site. The camp has been receiving displaced people since 2012, but the floods have put even more pressure on accommodation. Up to ten people can live in one tent, authorities say. More than a thousand families are currently seeking refuge here.

About 80 families are sheltering in tents in the Dhugudiua centre, 45 km from Quelimane, the capital of Zambezia province. Most of them are women and children who lost their houses because of Cyclone Idai.

As well as accommodation, the tents also serve as provisional health units as well as points for the distribution of social services.

Dhugudiua centrer has just one one kitchen for everyone to prepare their meals, so many families have taken to cooking outside. The groups of stones dotting the ground mark where people have set up makeshift cooking fires.

Although people at Dhugudiua shelter are receiving enough food to still their hunger, it's not a balanced diet. They are getting flour, rice and other food from various donors. But protein is scarce - there's no fish and there aren't enough beans to go around.

Thanks to a mobile water tank with a capacity of 1,000 liters, people have enough water for bathing as well as for washing dishes and clothes.

In Nicoadala District, about 20 volunteers work exclusively on monitoring hygiene standards in the accommodation centers. They check the quality of the water consumed by the families, ensure tents are clean and sensitize residents about good hygiene practices. The main objective - to avoid outbreaks of cholera and malaria.

Despite the support received in the accommodation centers, many families are desperate. They still don't know when they will be able to start rebuilding their homes and their lives. Before the cyclone, many of the men worked as carpenters or locksmiths. Now, they are unemployed and have no way of earning a living. The women mourn the loss of their fields.

People in the accommodation centers are awaiting the distribution of land. Many are keen to be placed in safer areas that are less vulnerable to flooding. Distributing land to the cyclone victims was a promise made by the Zambezia provincial authorities.

The doctors here say they are satisfied with how people are responding to health checkups they are offering, particularly voluntary HIV and malaria testing.