Belgium sends tents and hygiene kits to Mayotte after Cyclone Chido

Belgium is providing emergency humanitarian aid to Mayotte, the French island in the Indian Ocean that was severely hit by Cyclone Chido on 14 December. The aid consists of 717 family tents and 4,200 hygiene kits.

According to preliminary figures, 31 people were killed and 1,373 injured after Cyclone Chido left a trail of destruction in Mayotte. France requested support to help the local population in the aftermath of the disaster, through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

In response to France’s request, Belgium is sending 717 family tents and 4,200 hygiene kits to Mayotte through B-FAST, the federal government’s structure activated when providing emergency aid abroad. “These are essential to provide shelter and hygiene care to survivors,” stated the FPS Foreign Affairs in a press release.

Foreign minister Bernard Quintin added that Belgium is “on France's side in these difficult times”. “Our thoughts go out to the people who are suffering the consequences of this tragedy from afar or close by,” he stressed.

^{Destroyed infrastructure in Mayotte © BELGA PHOTO PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP}