INTERVIEW. Cyclone Chido in Mayotte: precariousness, expulsions… why the humanitarian catastrophe could have “been avoided”

What do we know about the health situation in Mayotte?

We do not have precise figures on the dead and injured. This is problematic and leaves us fearing the worst. We are in a context where entire slums have been destroyed. To show the violence of the phenomenon: hard buildings were also swept away by the cyclone. The winds completely pulverized an area which was inhabited by nearly 150,000 people. We can expect that there will be a significant number of injuries and deaths.

What system was deployed by Médecins du Monde on site?

We already had teams in place in Mayotte. But they are experiencing serious difficulties: we have premises that have been seriously damaged and we have no news of around fifteen volunteers. We don’t know if it’s because they died or if it’s because of the communication. We have already started to hold coordination meetings: we are going to put ourselves in battle order to ramp up the workload.

What are the priorities?

There is a logistical challenge about getting aid to the island. Firstly because Mayotte is quite entrenched. We also have a lot of roads that are impassable today. The main issue is access to water, which remains very limited today. Before the disaster that hit Mayotte, we knew that 16.3% of inhabitants – or 41,000 people – already had a problem accessing drinking water. There is also a lot of pressure about food for everyone, even if deliveries arrive.

What about access to care?

We have populations in need who are in remote territories. Above all, there will be a need for psychological assistance for people who have lost everything in this disaster: this is a public health issue, which will support the prevention of epidemic risks. Please note, we are not talking about an epidemic that appears spontaneously or a disaster curve. However, we know that the risks are increased in endemic areas: in Mayotte, we are fighting against cholera. There are also fears regarding malaria and other tropical diseases.

The problem is that around twenty peripheral health centers have been destroyed. The Mayotte Hospital Center was damaged even though it remains functional. It will be consolidated and assisted by a field hospital which will be operational this Thursday or Friday.

In your opinion, was there any possibility of preventing this catastrophe?

What is shocking is that we are dealing here with a French department. We are in a rich country which should normally be able to anticipate disasters. We are in a small territory, in which we record 20,000 expulsions each year of people without papers. These populations try to live hidden and sometimes end up delaying their care… In Mayotte, it was a double sword. People living in slums probably did not benefit from the emergency scheme rolled out last week because they were afraid of being arrested.

This repressive atmosphere is an aggravating factor: there is enormous distrust of the authorities. Result: the majority of deaths are observed among people who live in precarious environments. And you should know that there, you had 77% of the population living below the national poverty line: that’s five times more than in France.

What are the solutions to combat this?

We also have to ask ourselves about the medium and long term: what are we going to do to keep these populations safe? I do not think that the French authorities are going to advocate for the construction of solid buildings used to shelter people in an irregular situation. These people have already started to rebuild their slum.