Afrigather It was a daily day in Mwansambo Village, Dwangwa Nkhotakota. Che Wisiki walked within the rain drizzles along with his spouse Patuma to their house, happy they’d carried out sufficient to ensure greater yields within the cropping season. Little did they know that these rain drizzles heralding hope would flip right into a catastrophe.
Within the wake of the next morning, Nkhotakota district had acquired heavy and protracted rains of roughly 215.2mm which went on from twenty eighth February to 1st March 2. Ensuing within the flooding of Dwangwa, Bua, Kaombe, and Kasitu rivers. The floods claimed over 8 lives, severely injured 9 folks, displaced over 10,529 folks, and affecting over 92,000 individuals who wanted vital help.
“It was round 10 pm at evening after we observed water rising in our home. Patuma and the youngsters took basins making an attempt to cup out the water as I moved gadgets round the home. We then heard a loud thump on the roof. Tree branches had dropped onto us, leaving that a part of the home demolished. In that very same second, we heard a loud cry, we then remembered our youngest little one had been sleeping. We discovered her in a pool of blood. Within the steep darkness and heavy rains, with my complete household, we rushed to Katimbira Well being Heart. What we discovered there was a nightmare. The hospital was crammed with water, partly demolished, and washing away. The storm was not calming down. Sufferers have been being carried out of the hospital. Well being employees and villagers taking a look at one another in awe of what to do,” narrates Che Wisiki.
From the Nkhotakota District Hospital evaluation, six well being amenities have been affected by way of capability and medical provides.
“Twelve camps have been established within the Conventional Authorities of Mphonde and Kanyenda. Some well being posts have been additionally lower off below Katimbira, Kauli, Senjere, and Khonde. Moreover, sufferers couldn’t be referred to the District Hospital from the affected areas as a result of a number of highway cut-offs. It was a tragic state of affairs. Important sufferers, pregnant girls who have been already within the well being facilities along with people who had been injured from the flooding. In some instances, there was utterly nothing to be carried out. Individuals couldn’t cross to the opposite aspect because of the indignant waters,” stated Dr. Jacob Kafulafula, Director of Well being Companies for Nkhotakota District.
With assist from WHO Malawi, the Ministry of Well being deployed a 12-member Kind 1 Nationwide Emergency Medical Crew (EMT) on March 4th, 2024, to assist the district for a interval of three weeks. They needed to cross by boat with assist from the Malawi Protection Drive. Attributable to referral challenges, the EMT dealt with each EMT Kind 1 and Kind 2 companies working from Matiki, Khunga, and Ngala Well being Facilities, with visits to neighboring camps.
Dr. Limbani Mapata, the Crew Chief of the Emergency Medical Crew, narrates the EMT’s expertise in Nkhotakota.
“We assisted with difficult instances together with oligohydramnios, obstructed labor, uterine ruptures, toddler respiratory misery syndrome, rib fractures, Galeazzi fracture, and compression of L2 vertebrae. We additionally offered mentorship on vital care to scientific groups in these well being amenities. Attributable to in depth highway injury, the crew organized a relay referral system for instances needing secondary and tertiary care.
On the peak, the crew might attain as much as 400 consultations per day on a 24-hour rotation system. Cumulatively, the EMT had 8,093 consultations from the three well being amenities and managed to refer 34 sufferers with totally different well being situations to the district hospital for additional administration. Malaria and Higher Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) instances have been excessive. Schistosomiasis was distinguished and linked to the presence of swampy areas within the communities. Viral Conjunctivitis was additionally distinguished, particularly within the camps. We are able to solely be grateful to WHO. They offered the medical provides and have been ever current within the affected areas along with the surge crew.”
Che Wisiki stays grateful to the EMT. He says with out this crew, his daughter wouldn’t have made it out alive.
“We had misplaced all hope. We had managed to sluggish the bleeding, however she was nonetheless bleeding. The well being employees on the bottom had carried out their finest, however there have been no sources. Their concern was an an infection. The presence of those folks introduced us hope in a really hopeless state of affairs,” laments Wisiki.
