Ministry intensifies cholera outbreak interventions

The Ministry of Water and Sanitation has intensified its interventions in the fight against cholera outbreak that has hit 26 districts, killing 167 people.

A statement signed by Secretary for Water and Sanitation Elias Chimulambe, government will drill boreholes in some hotspot areas to ensure that communities have access to safe water. 

Reads the statement in part: “Among others, the government is providing safe water supply to affected populations using water bowsers and distributing chlorine in communities where there are no safe water supply facilities.”

The statement follows concerns by local leaders  in Nkhata Bay who said government is yet to drill boreholes that it pledged in Tukombo in Traditional Authority Zilakoma which is one of the cholera hotspots in the district.

Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia said government had drilled boreholes when cholera broke out in the area in August this year

But Chimulambe said as a long-term intervention for the Tukombo area, the ministry will soon drill boreholes and extend the Dwambazi Rural Water Supply project to serve the population south of Nkhata Bay District.

“In addition, the ministry is currently leading technical assessments to install additional water supply such as boreholes and piped water facilities in the [cholera] affected districts,” he said.

The Secretary for Water and Sanitation further indicates that government has rolled out free water connection through the country’s water boards to increase access to safe water supply in addition to the nationwide water quality testing and analysis which government is conducting to identify levels of water contamination to prevent risks.