Health

Community leaders take cholera head on

Group village head (GVH) Malemia, born Ferson Gatinala in 1933, is a seasoned community influencer—a voice of reason and experience.

When the 92-year-old speaks, people in 47 villages under his leadership listen.

However, his voice fades when talking about persistent cholera outbreaks in Malawi.

Ask him about the disease and he will take you back to 1973 when the country detected its first patient.

He recalls: “My first encounter with cholera came two years later when my wife was taken ill. She profusely vomitted whitish stuff and excreted watery stools.

“I didn’t know what to do and even the government was caught unawares. Our district commissioner was stricken too.”

The community leader, enthroned in 1996, wants to see an end to the disease that nearly cost his wife’s life.

He states: “I feel bad that the country is still struggling with cholera.

“Over 50 years ago, we didn’t know much. Now we know how it spreads and the preventive measures. Cholera kills fast if you don’t go to hospital, but we can stop it if we unite to end open defaecation and ensure everyone uses safe water.

Malemia was speaking at a training for community influencers convened by Chikwawa district health authorities at Ngabu Rural Hospital.

Unicef supported the training to strengthen the national response to climate-related emergencies, including disease outbreaks.

Environmental health officer Chifundo Kika expects the initiative to enhance the district’s response to emergencies fuelled by climate change.

“We’ve trained village heads, religious leaders, health workers and other frontline responders to improve how we manage emergencies that affect the flood-prone district and the Shire Valley,” she said.

The participating village heads and religious leaders hailed from cholera hotspots in the floodplain affected by the outbreak which killed 1 772 of 59 400 patients between 2022 and 2023.

A new cholera wave erupted last year following heavy rains and water stress caused by the El Nino weather pattern.

“Every outbreak shows the affected community and its leaders are not doing enough to make cholera history,” says Malemia. This is why I talk about it during gatherings and go door -to -door to make sure every household uses safe water and has adequate sanitation facilities, including a toilet with a drop-hole cover and handwashing facility.”

However, floods in the Shire Valley frequently damage sanitation facilities, rolling back community efforts to make cholera history.

In 2022, the devastation caused by cyclones Ana and Gombe stirred the country’s worst cholera outbreak. Chamboko Village, T/A Ngabu, recorded four cases.

“We must encourage our communities to tirelessly construct sanitation facilities. The floods that destroy toilets also wash human waste into the water we drink, fuelling cholera,” says GVH Chamboko.

He urges community members to ensure suspected patients seek medical help to save lives and stop the spread.

Pastor Stameck Mkwechi, who survived cholera two years ago, openly shares his four-day agony to amplify the importance of sanitation and medical care.

“Cholera doesn’t care who you are. Where sanitation and hygiene is lacking, it can affect a whole community within hours. This is why I preach preventive measures.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button