Dignity at stake for women in cyclone-hit Malawi
What you need to know:
- They cannot access contraception, menstrual hygiene products and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
- According to the UNFPA, the number is bound to increase, with health centres and many villages still submerged, thus dashing hopes for thousands of people from accessing essential services.
More than 30,000 Malawian women of child-bearing age are unable to meet their sexual and reproductive health needs following Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
They cannot access contraception, menstrual hygiene products and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), this number is bound to increase, with health centres and many villages still submerged, thus dashing hopes for thousands of people from accessing essential services.
Cyclone Freddy is reportedly the longest-lasting tropical storm on record and has caused severe flooding and mudslides, with the worst damage in Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique.
Hundreds have died, many health centres are still submerged and entire villages have been left stranded as roads and bridges – often the only way for thousands of people to reach essential services – were washed away. The cyclone has displaced more than 560,000 people in Malawi, with 130,000 people affected in the Nsanje district alone.
UNFPA is distributing thousands of dignity kits to women and girls in the most affected districts of Blantyre, Chikwawa, Nsanje and Mulanje. The kits include a 20-litre water pail, washing clothes, soap, underwear, a toothbrush, toothpaste and menstrual pads.
“Since the cyclone, we haven’t had any electricity, so UNFPA stepped in to help procure fuel for generators. This has helped ensure Caesarean section could continue in the absence of the normal power supply,” said UNFPA’s Olive Makuwira.
The UN agency is working with district health offices to ensure continuity of maternal health services, provide transport to reach pregnant and breastfeeding women in displacement camps and set up integrated maternal and neonatal outreach clinics. The clinics allow greater access to sexual and reproductive health services, helping reduce deaths and complications for pregnant women and newborns, which spike during crises as critical support structures are much less available to those in dire need.
Also read: Cyclone Freddy death toll in Malawi hits 326
Malawi is also battling against its deadliest cholera outbreak ever recorded before the cyclone hit, with hundreds of people, most of whom are women and girls, also at risk of malaria and other infections.
Today's multiplying climate crises are a growing threat, particularly to women, girls and people from marginalised communities. A recent report warns that almost half of the world population live in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate disasters, among them the people of Malawi, who have contributed little to the causes behind these catastrophes.
The devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy has ripped through southern Africa and in a rare second landfall killed more than 400 people in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night, with the death toll expected to rise. It has been causing destruction in southern Africa since late February and also pummelled the island states of Madagascar last month as it traversed across the Indian Ocean.
Storms and cyclones have become more severe because of the climate crisis. A warming planet is making life harder for those on the frontline of climate change and making cyclone seasons deadly.
In times of crisis, women and girls face an increased risk of gender-based violence and lose access to safe spaces and privacy, essential when managing periods.
