Post-electoral: Dozens of health vehicles and medical supplies worth €14.3 million destroyed in Mozambique

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Post-electoral: Dozens of health vehicles and medical supplies worth €14.3 million destroyed in Mozambique

8:56 CAT | 30 Dec 2024

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FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Luísa Nhantumbo/Lusa]

At least 77 health vehicles have been destroyed since the start of post-election protests, the Mozambican government reported Friday, estimating €14.3 million in medical supplies lost due to the destruction of the medicine supply center.

“So far, we have more than 77 vehicles either vandalized or destroyed, and of these, at least 55 were at the supply center, including new vehicles that were yet to be distributed across the country,” said Health Minister Armindo Tiago in a statement to the media.

The minister was speaking during a visit to hospital units in Maputo city, where he revealed that one of the warehouses at the medicine supply center, set on fire by protesters following the proclamation of election results by the Constitutional Council, contained medicines valued at $5 million (€4.7 million).

“Hospital uniforms were there. We purchased hospital attire for 70,000 employees of the National Health Service, including medical shoes, lab coats, trousers, gloves—everything was there. Just this is valued at $10 million (€9.5 million), including the raw materials needed for plaster casting, which were also stored there,” said Armindo Tiago, referring to other hospital materials lost in the fire.

The official stated that Mozambique will need at least two years to recover from the impacts of vandalism and destruction in the health sector, highlighting that it will take at least a year to requisition and receive the medical supplies lost in the supply center fire.

“But the biggest problem is that the warehouse itself is destroyed. Even though we have incoming supplies, we will now need to find alternatives to store the equipment and medical inputs arriving in the country,” Tiago pointed out.

At least 252 people have died in post-election protests since October 21, half of them following the announcement of the final results on Monday, according to a new tally by the Decide electoral platform.

Since Monday, the NGO has recorded 224 people shot, bringing the total to 569 since the start of the protests on October 21, in addition to 4,175 arrests.

The Mozambican Constitutional Council declared on Monday that Daniel Chapo, the candidate supported by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), had won the presidential election with 65.17% of the votes, succeeding Filipe Nyusi. Frelimo also retained its parliamentary majority in the general elections held on October 9.

This announcement triggered chaos across the country, with pro-Venâncio Mondlane protesters—who, according to the Constitutional Council, received only 24% of the votes—taking to the streets with barricades, looting, and clashes with the police, who have been firing shots to try to disperse the demonstrators.

Source: Lusa