Outbreaks threat as floods rattle sanitation
Mould is gathering in a twin-roomed structure harbouring a mud-filled toilet.
It is among few sanitation and hygiene facilities that survived destructive floods in Denja Village, Traditional Authority Kanyenda, Nkhotakota District.
One resident told Nation on Sunday that his family of six was open-defaecating as he is not able to replace their washed away toilet
“We can’t construct a toilet because the soil is still wet,” he said, asking for anonymity.
Wash cluster report for March shows that up to 1 247 latrines were damaged after heavy rains burst the Dwangwa and Kaomba river banks.
It reads in part: “28 285 people need Wash services, 11 169 people [2 115 households] are in internally displaced people [IDP] camps while 17 116 are in their homes in Nkhotakota District.”
The report further says five boreholes and 979 taps were affected.
Mtupi Camp has 239 people against three toilets.
Ngala Camp houses 356 people with six toilets.
Wash report says that 46 latrines from eight schools were affected.
Seventeen blocks of 28 latrines collapsed while six submerged in water and six blocks developed cracks.
“There is a need to disinfect classrooms used as camps. The latrines may quickly fill up, impacting learners in future. Immediate desludging of all the latrines is required,” the Wash report reads.
The report calls for urgent rebuilding, maintenance or desludging of affected latrines to maintain sanitation for learners.
Malawi University of Science and Technology climate sciences lecturer Isaac Tchuwa observed that the country has strong Wash contingency plans, but called for scaling up of implementation.
“Our national humanitarian response structures have a fully-fledged cluster. However, there is more we can do, especially in rehabilitating and reconstructing damaged Wash infrastructure.
