Cyclone Chido struck Mozambique on Dec. 15, 2024, with violent winds of 160 mph and more than 250 mm of rainfall in the first 24 hours. Families and communities are currently grappling with the unprecedented destruction it caused.
However, among the hardest hit are children, particularly girls, who face risks of exploitation, abuse, and emotional trauma in disaster scenarios. Amid these harrowing circumstances, gender-sensitive disaster relief approaches have become an essential tool to ensure the safety and recovery of vulnerable children.
One such approach is the newly introduced hotline by Street Child, a global organization dedicated to the welfare of children in crises. In a media release Michael Jumo, Street Child country director for Mozambique, said the humanitarian catastrophe caused by Cyclone Chido has brought hopelessness, agony, and anguish among children who are in disbelief and bewildered by the magnitude of destruction caused by the cyclone.
About the author
Madalitso Wills KatetaMadatso_Kateta
Madalitso Wills Kateta is a Malawi-based Devex contributing reporter. He specializes in gender, human rights, climate change, politics, and global development reporting. He has written for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, The New Humanitarian, African Arguments, Equal Times, and others.
