The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Cholera and other health emergencies in Mozambique multiplied by Cyclone Freddy - WHO
Over a million people across Mozambique’s eight provinces have been affected by the compounding effects of cholera, cyclone Freddy and its floods, polio, Covid-19 and a protracted humanitarian crisis in the north, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
“The numbers are sobering,” said Dr. Severin von Xylander, WHO Representative for Mozambique. “More than a million people across eight provinces are being impacted by cholera, the floods and Cyclone Freddy.”
The cyclone’s destructive path laid waste to more than 132 homes and displaced 184,000 people. “Mostly closed accommodation centers were opened in many districts and shelter for families in need. In the cyclone destroyed path 163 health facilities were damaged, jeopardizing access to routine care,” the WHO official added.
Storm damage to public services and infrastructure has been staggering, WHO said, after flooding in early February triggered by heavy seasonal rains, combined with the effects of Freddy making landfall – twice - on 24 February and on 11 March.
“The country was hit twice by the cyclone in a matter of days and (is) now receding,” said the WHO Representative. “But access to safe water and sanitation is still challenging and about one third of the crops have been destroyed and cholera cases are being reported from an increasing number of affected districts.”
In the coming weeks, WHO expects that the number of malaria cases will increase drastically and the malnutrition rate – already very high – will go up. Climate change is not a future problem – it’s here and now, Dr. von Xylander maintained.
His comments came as a cholera outbreak continues to spread. More than 132 people have been admitted to cholera treatment centers in the last 24 hours, 350 people have received ambulatory care for cholera. After Freddy hit Mozambique, the number of cases exploded from less than 20 a day to more than 200.
“While the cholera outbreaks regularly occur in Mozambique between October and April of every year with more than 21,000 cases currently and 95 deaths, this is the largest outbreak in the last 20 years,” said Dr. von Xylander. “For example, Manica province bordering Zimbabwe had not seen a case of cholera in the last 15 years.”
A first cholera vaccination campaign took place in late February in four provinces. Over 715,000 people were vaccinated using the single-dose strategy. A second campaign was launched on Thursday in the city of Quelimane – the most affected city - targeting 410,000 people.
“Luckily, the case fatality rate for the cholera treatment center is below the threshold of one per cent which means we are able to save lives,” said WHO’s Mozambique Representative. “I really have to acknowledge the wonderful work that the Ministry of Health is doing, deploying people that at the same time need to look after their families and meanwhile treating people.”
There is also a very real likelihood that the country will suffer a food crisis. An Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) report which describes the severity of food emergencies covering the period between November 2022 to March 2023 indicated that an estimated 3.15 million people in the country face acute food insecurity (2.8 million people in IPC3 and 400,000 people in IPC 4). For northern Mozambique, where there is only one planting season, the crop destruction means that the lean season will last a year.
-ends-
STORY: Cholera and Health Emergencies Mozambique - WHO
TRT: 1:59”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 31 March 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, press room with spokesperson on the podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Dr. Severin von Xylander, WHO Representative for Mozambique: “The numbers are sobering. More than a million people across eight provinces are being impacted by cholera, the floods and Cyclone Freddy. Cyclone Freddy destroyed over 132 homes and 184,000 people were displaced. Now ready, mostly closed accommodation centers were opened in many districts and shelter for families in need. In the cyclone destroyed path 163 health facilities were damaged, jeopardizing access to routine care.”
- Close up, journalists
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Dr. Severin von Xylander, WHO Representative for Mozambique: “The country was hit twice by the cyclone in a matter of days and now receding. But access to safe water and sanitation is still challenging and about one third of the crops have been destroyed and cholera cases are being reported from an increasing number of affected districts.”
- Close up, journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Severin von Xylander, WHO Representative for Mozambique: “While the cholera outbreaks regularly occur in Mozambique between October and April of every year with more than 21,000 cases currently and 95 deaths, this is the largest outbreak in the last 20 years. For example, Manica province bordering Zimbabwe had not seen a case of cholera in the last 15 years.”
- Medium shot, journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Dr. Severin von Xylander, WHO Representative for Mozambique: “Luckily, the case fatality rate for the cholera treatment center is below the threshold of one per cent, which means we are able to save lives. And I really have to acknowledge the wonderful work that the Ministry of Health is doing, deploying people that at the same time need to look after their families and meanwhile treating people.”
- Medium shot, journalists and screen with speakers in the background
- Close up, hands writing
- Close up, hands typing on laptop
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.