Malawi to engage MOZ, Zimbabwe on cholera
Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced plans to engage their counterparts in Mozambique and Zimbabwe to strategise on the way forward in dealing with cholera cases that have impacted the three countries.
Minister of Health Peter Kumpalume, speaking at Kakoma area under Senior Traditional Authority Chapananga on Wednesday when he declared Chapananga an open defeacation free (ODF) area, said health officials from Malawi will next week meet their counterparts in Tete, Mozambique to discuss possible measures to end cholera.
He said: “As minister, I have taken a keen interest in ending open defeacation. As you are aware that we cannot end waterborne diseases if we are not following good hygiene. For example, we have to ensure that we have good toilets as well as having access to clean water.”
The minister added that the amount of money spent to contain a cholera outbreak is huge, citing the situation at Gaga Health Centre in Chikwawa where a team from Lilongwe has to travel to confirm the outbreak and ensure that they contain it from spreading to other areas.
Kumpalume said it was important that countries sharing borders with Malawi such as Mozambique interact to find lasting solutions.
He said: “If we have cholera in Malawi and people move in and out of the country, we definitely have cholera in the other countries. So, we need to collaborate as authorities as you know we had cholera in Mozambique and it has spread.”
His remarks come against a background of rising cholera cases in the southern tip district of Nsanje where the district health office last week reported that cholera cases hit 18.
The outbreak in Nsanje is suspected to have originated from Mozambique.
