Flanders sends 200,000 euros in emergency aid to Malawi after tropical storm Freddy

The Flemish government is providing 200,000 euros in emergency aid for victims of tropical storm Freddy in Malawi. The government will transfer the money to the Flemish Red Cross, which will also donate 100,000 euros and is working with the Malawi Red Cross on the ground. 

“Flanders has been active in Malawi since 2006, supporting numerous projects there. Now that the country is again being hard hit, we want to increase our help,” says Matthias Diependaele (N-VA), minister of finance and budget, who is currently in the country. “I visited part of the disaster zone with the president of Malawi, and the situation there is terrible.”

The cyclone first hit Madagascar and Mozambique in late February before moving back into the Indian Ocean. It made landfall again on 11 March and reached Malawi. The number of people confirmed to have died is more than 500, with 427 missing and 1,300 seriously injured. The World Health Organisation has warned of major health risks such as cholera or malaria, with more than 300 health facilities having been flooded or destroyed. 

The money will fund search and rescue operations and provide first aid and basic healthcare in regions where hospitals have been damaged. It will also be used for the distribution of food, mattresses, tents, mosquito nets and cooking equipment, as well as personal hygiene kits to prevent the outbreak of cholera.

^{#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO AMOS GUMULIRA / AFP}