On Wednesday, February 4, South African multinational Sasol made available more than 6 million meticais (€79,700) to support around 1,700 families affected by flooding in the provinces of Gaza and Inhambane, in southern Mozambique.
The initiative comes in the wake of heavy rains and flooding since January, which have caused significant human and material damage in several regions of the country. With this intervention, the oil company aims to respond to the immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities in the two affected provinces.
According to Sasol’s general manager in Mozambique, Sónia Chembezi, the support will take the form of 1,700 food and hygiene kits delivered to the affected families. “These kits include basic foodstuffs and essential items to ensure minimum conditions of health, hygiene, and dignity at a time when the risk of disease and infection is high,” said Sónia Chembezi.
In Inhambane province, Sasol’s support goes beyond the emergency response. According to Chembezi, the company is also focused on the post-flood recovery phase, planning to distribute additional agricultural supply kits to affected families to support the resumption of productive activities.
On the same occasion, the president of the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), Luísa Meque, thanked the oil company for its gesture, stressing that the support “will be essential to alleviate the suffering of the communities affected” by the floods.
Updated data from the INGD indicate that more than 75,000 Mozambicans are currently being housed in 76 accommodation centers, out of a total of 723,500 people affected by the floods since January, a phenomenon that has already caused 23 deaths during that period throughout the country.
According to the INGD database, the floods have affected the equivalent of 170,200 families. Since January 7, 145 people have been reported injured and nine missing, in addition to 3,555 houses partially destroyed, 832 totally destroyed, and 165,900 flooded, worsening the figures previously reported.
Source: Lusa
