New Holgate relief mission
The Kingsley Holgate team is heading to Mozambique on a relief expedition to assist communities living near Gorongosa National Park who are still suffering the effects of Cyclone Idai
DEPARTING on World Malaria Day, 25 April, the Kingsley Holgate team is heading to Mozambique on a relief expedition to assist communities living near Gorongosa National Park who are still suffering the effects of Cyclone Idai.
The widespread flooding is now also posing a threat of malaria.
A month after the cyclone slammed into Beira and left a swathe of destruction in its path inland towards Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani region, malaria is on the increase.
More than 9 500 cases have been reported since 27 March, alongside 4 979 cases of cholera according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).
The expedition is heading for the Gorongosa region inland from Beira, where more than 30 000 people live in the low-lying areas near the Buzi River that flows along the Gorongosa National Park boundary.
This region was in the direct path of the cyclone and large areas are still under water.
The park responded by launching its own relief efforts.
They have delivered over 30 tons of food, but the threat of contaminated drinking water and malaria remains extremely high.
Stagnant water is a perfect breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
Personal experience
Malaria prevention and water purification support are key elements of all Holgate’s humanitarian expeditions.
‘It started because of personal experiences,’ said Kingsley.
‘I’ve had malaria more than 50 times, a young man died of malaria in one of our vehicles as we were rushing him to a clinic, and it’s unacceptable that a child dies of malaria every two minutes around the clock.
‘All of our expedition team know the dangers of water-borne diseases, we’ve all suffered from dysentery, which can kill even the toughest man,’ says Holgate.
The expedition to Gorongosa will focus on supplying 15 tons of life-saving PermaNet mosquito nets, malaria test kits and treatments, and enough water purification units to provide over one million litres of clean drinking water in support of Gorongosa’s efforts.
Tried and tested
‘No one could have predicted that this year’s World Malaria Day would coincide with the aftermath of such an enormous humanitarian disaster,’ said expedition leader Ross Holgate.
‘Now that roads, bridges and river crossings are becoming passable in the Gorongosa region, we’re determined to do our bit to help our neighbours in need.’
‘Relief expeditions like this cannot be done without support, and we pay tribute to Land Rover, Rotarians in southern Africa, Moz-am-bik restaurants, the Hlokomela Foundation, Coca Cola, SABCO Mozambique, Goodbye Malaria, Barrows, LifeStraws and Water Maker, who have willingly come on board to support this expedition.’
Frightening stats
According to the latest World Health Organisation report, 219 million cases of malaria were reported during 2017, with 92% occurring in Africa.
More than 430 000 people died from the disease.
A child dies every two minutes from malaria – 61 per cent of them under the age of five.
To date, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has distributed just under 441 000 mosquito nets in high-risk communities throughout Africa.
These nets protect 1.3 million people from the deadly bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.
Nearly one in five child deaths, about 1.5 million each year, are due to water borne diseases, especially from cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea.
The foundation has distributed more than 46 000 individual LifeStraw and family-sized units, providing more than 63 million litres of clean drinking water to communities most in need.
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