On Wednesday, March 8, the Government of Japan decided to send an advance team comprising two persons (officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA) from March 9, for the subsequent dispatch of a medical team to Mozambique, which has sustained great damage from flooding. The advance team will join those including an official of the Japanese Embassy in South Africa who have already flown to Mozambique, and is expected to report the situation. The Government is considering to dispatch the medical team as early as possible during next week, taking into account the report of the advance team, to provide basic medical assistance to the sufferers and to cope at early stages with the potential infectious and other diseases such as cholera which could spread after the flood.
In Mozambique, flooding has been triggered by torrential rain which started in mid-January. This flood has caused the worst damage in fifty years. In late February, a cyclone passed the region, isolating many towns and villages and causing further damages. Under such situation, on March 6, the Government of Mozambique requested the Government of Japan to dispatch a medical team at an early opportunity.
The Government of Japan has decided to take this measure from a humanitarian standpoint, in addition to the already announced emergency grant aid and emergency assistance in kind totaling about 121.50 million yen (equivalent to about 1 million US dollars), in view of the seriousness of this disaster and the friendly relations between Japan and Mozambique.
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