Cyclone in Mayotte: Doctors of the World Mobilises in Response to the Emergency

In Mayotte, Doctors of the World is mobilising to help the population and is calling for solidarity.

After the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte, the situation is catastrophic. Doctors of the World teams on the ground are preparing to intervene to assist the population. They are especially concerned about the emergence of epidemics, such as cholera.

In Mayotte, Cyclone Chido has swept everything in its path and plunged the French department into chaos. Mayotte is the department most exposed to precarious conditions: 77% of the population lives below the poverty line. In the territory, four out of ten homes are made of sheet metal, and the sanitation network is largely inadequate: drinking water, already scarce, risks becoming almost impossible to find following Cyclone Chido. This is compounded by the strain on healthcare infrastructure, which is already vastly insufficient to meet the needs of the population.

“We are very worried about how the situation will evolve. On the archipelago, which contains many slums, everything has been destroyed. The roads and communication channels are cut off, there is no electricity, and no water, which forebodes the worst. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the shock is extremely severe for all the inhabitants of Mayotte, including our teams on the ground. Our priority at the moment is to re-establish contact with them to ensure everyone is safe, particularly our 25 volunteers who live in affected neighbourhoods.” – Yannick Le Bihan, Director of French Operations for Doctors of the World

Doctors of the World is preparing to provide an appropriate response and is organising to strengthen its teams as soon as possible in order to assist the entire population.

Furthermore, Doctors of the World is calling on public authorities to act swiftly and decisively to meet the vital needs of all the inhabitants of Mayotte without exception. The major issue of access to water and the lack of essential services, particularly healthcare services, has been neglected for far too long. The dramatic situation in Mayotte today underscores the urgency of state intervention to ensure lasting public health security for everyone.

About Doctors of the World in Mayotte

Present in Mayotte since 2007, Doctors of the World works daily to achieve universal access to a quality public healthcare system, particularly for those living in slums. Through mobile activities carried out with committed volunteers, the organisation conducts health mediation actions to improve access to healthcare for all the inhabitants of Mayotte, without discrimination.