STORYLINE

Tropical cyclone Freddy set to further weaken cholera-hit Malawi: UNICEF, WMO

Malawi’s deadly cholera outbreak could worsen if - as expected - Tropical Cyclone Freddy triggers further heavy rainfall in the south of the country, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

“Malawi is really experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its recorded history - nothing less than that - and the country is also struggling to respond to an earlier outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 cases across the nation,” said Rudolf Schwenk, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Malawi Representative.

In an update to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Schwenk reported that since the outbreak was officially announced a year ago, cholera has spread to 29 districts across Malawi. “So, it’s all over the country, affecting more than 50,000 people and over 1,500 deaths,” he said, via Zoom link from Lilongwe. “Of these, more than 12,000 children have contracted cholera, and of these, unfortunately 197 - almost 200 - have died.”

In a related warning, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted that Tropical cyclone Freddy “will once again bring more heavy rainfall to the south of the country”, according to Malawi’s national meteorological service.

The development will likely create additional life-threatening challenges to communities who are already struggling as the rainy season reaches its height, combined with the fact that it is now the annual lean season in Malawi, where many families have to cope with scant resources.

Despite being a preventable disease, cholera is a “death sentence” for thousands of vulnerable children in the southern African nation, UNICEF’s Mr. Schwenk said.

The situation is particularly difficult because national “resources are limited” as the country struggles to recover from the impact of COVID-19, the UNICEF official continued. “The health system’s overburdened, the health workers are really stretched to the limit since many months; and these are really difficult times for the children in Malawi.”

Across Malawi, an estimated 4.8 million children – “one in two children in the country” need humanitarian assistance, Mr. Schwenk warned, noting that severely hungry children are 11 times more likely to die from cholera than a well-nourished youngster. “By the end of March, almost a quarter of a million children under five years of age are expected to be acutely malnourished, with over 60,000 children expected to be severely malnourished.”

As part of the UN’s response, UNICEF has distributed clean water and sanitation supplies and support, including plastic buckets, soap, water purification tablets, mobile plastic latrines and chlorine bleaching powder, reaching 4,000 people at the Malawi-Zambian Border.

The UN agency has also prioritized six districts based on consistently high cholera caseloads and mortality: Lilongwe, Mangochi, Blantyre, Balaka, Salima and Machinga.

ends

STORY: Malawi – Cholera Outbreak: UNICEF, WMO       

TRT: 1 mins 49s

SOURCE: UNTV CH

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

DATELINE: 7 March 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior wide, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying.
2. Medium-wide, Press conference room, UN Geneva, podium speaker, journalist.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) — Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Malawi Representative (via Zoom from Lilongwe): “Malawi is really experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its recorded history - nothing less than that - and the country is also struggling to respond to an earlier outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 cases across the nation.”
4. Medium-wide, journalists seated.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) — Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Malawi Representative (via Zoom from Lilongwe): “Since the outbreak was officially announced just one year ago, cholera has spread to 29 districts across the country – so it’s all over the country – affecting more than 50,000 people and over 1,500 deaths and of these, more than 12,000 children have contracted cholera, and of these, unfortunately 197 - almost 200 - have died.”
6. Medium, journalists working on laptops, speakers on large screen TV to rear.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO, via Zoom): “The Malawi meteorological service is saying that Freddy will once again bring more heavy rainfall to the south of the country.”
8. Medium-wide, journalists, speakers.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) — Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Malawi Representative (via Zoom from Lilongwe): “We see that the resources are limited, the health system’s overburdened, the health workers are really stretched to the limit since many months; and these are really difficult times for the children in Malawi.”
10. Wide, journalists working on laptops.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) — Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Malawi Representative (via Zoom from Lilongwe): “Today we have an estimated 4.8 million children, or one in two, one in two children in the country are in humanitarian need. And by the end of March, almost a quarter of a million children under five years of age are expected to be acutely malnourished, with over 60,000 children expected to be severely malnourished.”
12. Medium-wide, TV camera mounted tripod in foreground, journalists working on laptops to rear.
13. Wide, journalists working on laptops, light panel in shot.
14. Medium-wide, journalists, seated.
15. Medium, journalists, seated.