MAPUTO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced Thursday that it is creating temporary learning shelters in Mozambique for the children whose schools and classrooms were destroyed due to the passage of the tropical storm Ana.
UNICEF said in a press release that it has deployed a team of experts to provide medical and nutritional material, water, sanitation and hygiene kits for children and their families affected by the storm.
Essential goods including buckets, water purifiers, soaps, and therapeutic foods for malnourished children are also being distributed, said the press release.
According to UNICEF, some 45,000 people including about 23,000 women and children are likely to need humanitarian assistance, following the tropical storm that left trail of destruction in the provinces of Nampula, Niassa, Manica, Sofala, Zambezia and Tete on Monday.
"The latest tropical storm hitting Mozambique is a reminder that the climate crisis is a reality and that children are the most affected by severe climate change events," said Maria Luisa Fornara, UNICEF representative in the country.
Latest data shared by the national institute for disaster management indicated that 27,383 pupils were left without classrooms to study because of the storm, at a time when the new academic year will begin within one week.
UNICEF estimates that 3.5 million U.S. dollars will be needed to respond to the needs of the affected people. ■