Kasungu on high cholera alert after cases in Zambia
Officials from Kasungu District Hospital say they are on high cholera alert after cases of the disease were reported in neighbouring Zambia.
They say although the district has not recorded any cholera case, they are on high alert and prepared to provide effective response in an event of an outbreak.
The hospital Public Relations Officer Catherine Yoweli said Kasungu is at risk of registering cholera cases because it shares boundary with Zambia which has been heavily hit by the outbreak.
On Friday, Zambia recorded 336 cases and 22 deaths in 24 hours as it took its tally of cumulative cases to 4, 433 and 172 deaths since October 2023 and has since banned street vending and delayed opening of schools.
Kasungu borders Zambia to the west, with many cross border trade activities taking place through Chinsinga, Kachinda and Nthunduwala.
“On the prevention side, we have been distributing chlorine in communities to ensure that people are drinking safe water.
“As a district, we have also been actively involved in the Tipewe Cholera campaign through which we have been disseminating messages on prevention and control, targeting local leaders and the community at large,” she said.
Yoweli, who is also a health promotion officer, said they have also carried out house inspections in communities checking the availability of proper sanitary facilities.
“These activities are ongoing. And we have intensified surveillance of cases so that when found, they should be treated at the earliest opportunity.
“During a similar period last year, we had recorded 15 cumulative cases. So it is encouraging that we are at zero cases this year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says Malawi needs to identify priority areas for multi-sectoral interventions on cholera to bring a long-term solution to the outbreaks.
Chiponda said this on Friday at Ministry of Health headquarters in Lilongwe during a Presidential Taskforce on Covid 19 and Cholera press briefing organised to update the nation on the status of cholera in Malawi as the rainy season is intensifying.
Chiponda observed that every rainy season the nation talks about cholera outbreak, saying this has to change by working towards permanent cholera control measures and added that the government is committed to the global goal of ending cholera by 2030.
“Identifying priority areas for multi-sectoral interventions is of paramount importance for effective cholera control in Malawi, hence concentrating our limited resources and interventions in areas with heightened vulnerability will enable a more focused and efficient response to cholera threats,” said Chiponda.
She further said there are several other interventions that can be used to bring long-term solution to cholera outbreaks, such as sustained political will and leadership, resource mobilisation, community engagement, strengthening coordination and stakeholder involvement, among others.
“As you have observed time and again that the President remains highly engaged and dedicated to the prevention and control of cholera in this country and I, as the Minister of Health, and my colleagues, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, all members of the presidential taskforce and technical experts remain actively alert and involved in the fight against cholera,” said Chiponda.
Chiponda also said that the media are one of the major stakeholders that can be used in combating cholera outbreaks through dissemination of important hygienic messages.
She therefore asked the media to highlight the risk factors for cholera, such as use of unsafe water, poor food hygiene, poor sanitation and low usage of pit latrines, which the public needs to know and prevent at all cost.
Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia added that her ministry is doing all it can to fight cholera outbreaks through provision of boreholes in districts and rural areas so that people can have access to safe and clean water for use.
“My ministry has been engaging with CEOs for water boards to ensure that they provide water to people at all times because water interruptions can also lead to cholera outbreak, as it was the case in last year’s outbreak whereby most people affected were in the cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe and partly Mzuzu,” said Mia.
Currently, the cholera outbreak situation in the country remains very low and sporadic, far much better that at the same time last year.
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