June 28. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Around one million people have received doses of the coronavirus vaccine in six districts affected by the uptick in attacks by jihadist groups in northern and central Mozambique, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed on Tuesday. ICRC).
“The armed conflict in Cabo Delgado has caused serious consequences for the health system in general. Most of the health centers have been destroyed, set on fire or vandalized, and access to these establishments is not possible due to insecurity,” he said. indicated the ICRC health coordinator in the country, Emilio Mashant.
“The violence prevented the health system from deploying to those places to carry out the vaccination campaign against COVID-19,” he said. The million beneficiaries represent 75 percent of the population in six districts of the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Manica and Sofala.
The ICRC has highlighted that it supports the Mozambican health authorities with the delivery of fuel for the transport of vaccines and health equipment, as well as volunteers from the organizations in Pemba, Montepuez and Ibo, in Cabo Delgado, where more than 3,000 families have fled since the beginning of June due to insecurity.
Likewise, the agency provides this same support and provides vehicles in the districts of Barué, Mossurize –in Manica– and Gorongoza –in Sofala–, where the lack of access to essential services continues to be one of the main humanitarian problems. . Lastly, it has supported nearly 200 volunteers who participated in awareness campaigns about vaccination.
Cabo Delgado has been the scene since October 2017 of attacks by Islamist militiamen known as Al Shabaab, unrelated to the homonymous group that operates in Somalia and maintains ties with Al Qaeda. Since mid-2019 they have been mostly claimed by the Islamic State in Central Africa (ISCA), which has intensified its actions since March 2020.
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