Mchinji launches mass cleaning exercise day

Mchinji District Council has launched a weekly cleaning day to fight cholera in the district.

Mchinji district commissioner (DC) Rosemary Nawasha launched the exercise on Thursday.

The event  was attended by representatives from government departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the business community.

Nawasha said the event will be held weekly until reports of cholera end, at which time the exercise will become a fortnightly activity.

“As you know, we are surrounded by districts hit by cholera. This puts us at risk of the disease,” she said.

Nawasha said after the launch, the council will officially write all businesspeople, warning them against careless dumping of garbage and to observe the routine weekly mass cleaning day.

Mchinji district health officer (DHO) Juliana Kanyengambeta said the interventions are good and will complement cholera control measures that are being followed by the health office.

“This shows that as a district, we are working with one goal. This is one of the measures that we already have as a DHO,” she said.

Mchinji Market chairperson Wilson Maluwa said the business community supports the weekly exercise.

Cholera was first reported in the Northern Region district of Karonga. It has since spread to other parts of the country ,with four deaths and 274 cases recorded so far. n