Sheba to the Rescue in Mozambique

March 19, 2019

In the deadly wake of Cyclone Idai, which struck Mozambique’s second largest city Beira in East Africa, an elite team from Sheba’s Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response in collaboration with IsraAID and international teams flew to the disaster zone.

Cyclone Idai is regarded as having been the worst tropical storm to ever hit East Africa, claiming over 750 lives and affecting almost two million people overall, according to U.N. figures.

The Sheba team included the Center’s Director, Prof. Elhanan Bar-On, tropical disease specialist Prof. Eli Schwartz, pediatric emergency department head nurse Orna Tzuria and midwifery expert Sigal Resheff. They helped to establish field hospitals, set up disease treatment centers and treat survivors in the devastated region.

“The destruction and loss of life is devastating. And now, Mozambique is left with a public health emergency and a huge number of displaced persons,” said Prof. Bar-On. “Waterborne diseases are the biggest danger. We assessed the needs on a day-by-day basis and worked hard to ensure that we could be as effective as possible.”

Published @ Sheba Medical Center