IMF gives Cyclone hit-Mozambique $118 million for rebuilding
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday, it will grant Mozambique a $118.2 million credit facility to help it rebuild infrastructure after the devastating cyclone Idai, that killed hundreds of people and flattened several villages.
More than 1,000 people have been reported killed by the devastating storm in East African countries- Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi after the worst cyclone in decades scourged the eastern Indian Ocean coast in March with devastating winds of up to 170 km per hour.
The heavy flooding caused by torrential rain and hurricanes that pounded villages and cities, especially in the port town of Beira in Mozambique, has left the improvised South-east African nation desperate for cash to kick-start its recovery plans.
According to an estimate by the world bank, the affected countries will need over $2 billion to recover.
Mozambique’s $337 million humanitarian response plan, considerably made up of an appeal for $281 million after the cyclone hit, covers only 23 percent of the funds required.
“The financial assistance is intended to address broad budgetary and external financing gaps emerging from reconstruction needs after Cyclone Idai, which caused significant loss of life and infrastructure damage,” it said.
Mozambique also suffers a cholera epidemic after the cyclone wiped out water facilities.
Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had frequent outbreaks over the past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the last outbreak, which ended in February 2018, according to a WHO report
