Poor sanitation triggers Cholera in Malawi capital city

Malawi Capital City, Lilongwe has been hit by an outbreak of cholera with authorities registering 15 cases within the past days primarily due to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinkable water.

Lilongwe District Health Promotion Officer, Richard Mvula said on Tuesday when briefing members of the District Executive Committee and other stakeholders on the development.

Mvula said poor hygiene and sanitation practices by some people in Lilongwe River where some people draw their water for domestic chores is the cause of the current outbreak.

 “It is a worrisome situation for the district because it was in September when we registered one case of cholera in Mgona and we thought it won’t spread to other areas.

“As of now, we have registered 15 cases from four health centre catchment areas namely: Area 25, Chiwamba, Kang’oma and Daeyang. This is very worrisome,” he said.

Mvula has, therefore, called upon stakeholders to join hands in combating the pandemic by, among other things, providing clean water to some parts of the district, encouraging households to have toilets and following sanitation and hygiene practices such as washing hands frequently with soap.

He said on its part, Lilongwe DHO will soon embark on door to door cholera mass awareness campaigns across the district and checking if people are really following hygiene practices.

Lilongwe District Planning Development Officer, Willard Chirwa has called upon stakeholders to be in the forefront in sensitising members of the general public on the importance of following hygiene practices.