Doctors without Borders: KZN flood victims need trauma counselling

Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontier, MSF) have been on the ground of flood-ravaged KZN since the storms hit in early April.

“The city remains in crisis 10 days after the storm, and it is now primarily a crisis of water and sanitation provision – to hospitals, clinics and communities,” said Dr Mani Thandrayen, MSF medical team leader in Durban on Sunday.

“Failure to get this right could spell a deepening health crisis, characterized by water-borne disease,” he added.

MSF has since provided 25 portable toilets at three shelters and four portable water tanks for storage to guard against disease outbreaks in the aftermath of the floods.

They’ve distributed food and blankets, mattresses, cookware and basic hygiene products for 500 people and has provided kitchen appliances at community shelters. 

Residents reeling from the trauma of flood-related deaths

During the MSF team’s first community visits, it became apparent that many traumatised people were reeling from the loss of family members and their homes and are in need of counselling.

“We are living a daily tragedy – I am so overwhelmed I struggle to recall my own cellphone number,” says Nozipho Sithole, a resident of the Ntuzuma community who lost her own home and is now helping to manage the shelter at Ntuzuma Community Hall.

Registered counsellors working for MSF, and several MSF doctors and nurses, have since joined mobile health clinics, under the management of the provincial and municipality health departments.

These teams aim to bring health services to all shelters across the municipality in the coming days.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney

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