More than 305,000 children in Mozambique have had their education interrupted because of damage caused by Cyclone Idai, UNICEF said today. Over 3,400 classrooms were damaged or destroyed in cyclone-affected regions, including 2,713 in the Sofala area alone. In some cases, schools require extensive rehabilitation after being used as emergency shelters for children and families displaced by the storm. These school facilities should be reconstructed to withstand natural disasters in the future.
In some of the areas affected, schools will need extensive repair and rehabilitation after being converted into makeshift emergency shelters for children and families displaced by the huge storm, which barreled inland off the coast of Mozambique on 14 April, also causing damage and flooding across large areas of Zimbabwe and Malawi.
UNICEF is urging authorities to reconstruct schools in a more robust way, so they can withstand natural disasters in the future, and they are urging humanitarian partners involved in the mammoth recovery effort, to “continue working together to implement solutions” – such as establishing temporary learning centres – to get children back in school as quickly as possible.
“Any prolonged interruption in access to learning could have devastating consequences for children over both the short and long term”, said the agency. “Education is essential for helping children return to a sense of normalcy following a traumatic event, like a major cyclone, and for their long-term development and prospects.”
You can help the Children and victims of Cyclone Idai by donating to UNICEF, the International Medical Corps, Global Giving’s relief fund, Save the Children, the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, or Doctors Without Borders.
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