The death of a three- year-old boy at Chileka Health Centre in January 2026 cast a harsh spotlight on Blantyre’s growing cholera crisis.
“It was a painful reminder of how quickly the disease can claim lives, especially among young children,” says Blantyre district director of health services, Dr Gift Kawalazira
At the health centre near Chileka International Airport, senior health surveillance assistant (HSA) Stella Khumbanyiwa reports that the surrounding communities have recorded 27 cholera cases, including four confirmed infections.
Three of the cases were in children under five. The boy who died came from Suya in Chirimba, an area where many households rely on unsafe water sources.
Khumbanyiwa says the outbreak is fuelled by persistent use of contaminated streams, despite the availability of boreholes fitted with chlorine dispensers.
“People avoid the boreholes because of congestion and some believe borehole water does not wash clothes well,” she explains. “This is why traditional authorities Kuntaja and Machinjiri have become hotspots.”
In Chilomoni’s Mulunguzi area, one of the the hardest hit zones, fear has begun to shift behaviour.
Five-year-old Dominic Chiputula received his oral cholera vaccine with his mother’s consent after a neighbour’s death jolted the community into action.
Senior HSA Thandiwe Chisi, who oversees the area, says the recent fatality prompted a surge in vaccine uptake.
“We ran the oral cholera vaccination campaign from 21 to 25 January,” Chisi says. “On the first day alone, we reached 63 percent of our target. We were vaccinating everyone aged one and above through door-to-door visits and community gatherings.
Traditional leaders and ward councillors have been instrumental in dispelling myths.
For many families, however, the root problem remains low access to clean water.
In Sosola, Chilomoni, Alinafe Khamula says her neighbour’s entire family was hospitalised with suspected cholera.
The experience influenced her to change her water source and start using the chlorine provided by HSAs.
“We draw water from a place where people dump waste because we can’t afford kiosk water,” she says. “Sometimes human waste contaminates it. But what choice do we have? After seeing my neighbours fall sick, I’m now treating every bucket with chlorine.”
Dr Kawalazira acknowledges these realities. Blantyre has recorded over half of the cases in the raging outbreak, which has claimed two lives in the city from 130 confirmed cases nationwide since December 11 2025.
Surveillance shows that a majority of the confirmed cases originated from Mulunguzi where residents rely heavily on unsafe streams like Muluda.
“We understand that kiosk water costs money and that taps sometimes run dry,” he says. “But using contaminated water is extremely dangerous. At Muluda stream, people wash plates and clothes while others collect the same water for drinking. This is a breeding ground for cholera.”
Despite the challenges, the vaccination campaign made significant progress.
The district targeted 24 000 people and had already administered 24 993 doses, including more than 3 500 children under five, in the first four of the five-day campaign supported by Unicef and World Health Organisation through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
Health workers credit the success to strong community engagement, persistent door-to-door outreach and support from local leaders.
The three-year old boy’s death underscores the urgency of addressing the underlying issues driving the outbreak—unsafe water, poor sanitation and limited access to affordable potable water.
Health officials warn that without sustained behaviour change and improved water infrastructure, the risk of further loss remains high.
