Mozambique Update
On Tuesday, Merete and Tine deployed to Mozambique. Their mission? To set up the CBS platform at oral rehydration points in order to help detect and stop outbreaks of cholera.
Upon landing in Mozambique, Tine and Merete left for Beira, a city in the central-eastern part of the country.
When the tropical cyclone Idai hit the coast of Mozambique two weeks ago, the city of Beira was hit the hardest. With winds of over 160 km per hours, the cyclone caused great destruction in the port town. Some numbers indicate that 90% of the city (the fourth largest in Mozambique) was destroyed.
With flooding and displacement came cholera. So far, over 2000 cases have been detected.
Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by unsafe water and food that has been contaminated by the bacteria. Once infected, acute watery diarrhoea and dehydration sets in, which, if left untreated, can be life-threatening. With the destruction of sanitation facilities and access to safe water in Beira, the number of cholera cases is expected to continue rising.
Tine and Merete joined a team of delegates from the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, who are all working on improving the situation for the thousands of people affected by the cyclone in Beira.
They started their day on Wednesday by setting up the CBS platform. Data collection is to take place at oral rehydration points (ORPs) which are placed in strategic locations around the city. At the ORPs, people can come to get rehydration for acute watery diarrhoea, while community volunteers send SMS reports of cases. All the SMS are sent to the CBS platform, which enables the Red Cross to track and monitor the number of suspected cases in the communities around the ORP. By following real-time information, we can detect changes in the outbreak and respond according to actual needs.
While setting up the platform on Wednesday, Tine and Merete discovered some issues they would like changed in the platform prior to deployment to the ORPs. To help them, 10 CBS tech volunteers in Norway gathered that same evening to work on solving these issues. The result? A functioning platform ready for reporting in Mozambique!
Thursday and Friday were dedicated to training the local Red Cross volunteers who will be working at the ORPs, both on rehydration management and on SMS reporting. On Saturday, the ORPs started reporting on incoming AWD cases.
If Red Cross see a change in the number of people with acute watery diarrhoea in one area, they can move their ORPs and by that move resources and efforts to respond to the outbreak where needed the most. With a large cholera outbreak, like the one in Beira, time is of the essence. Being able to report in real-time via SMS is both simple for the volunteers at the ORPs and allows for rapid detection of increases in reports.
Through early detection, the Mozambique Red Cross can respond to new outbreaks or increases in reports sooner, thereby potentially saving lives.
