Unicef concerned with Salima cholera situation

Unicef Malawi chief of community development and resilience Bhawna Vajpai has expressed concern over the cholera situation in Salima District.

She said this on Wednesday when a team from Unicef toured traditional authorities Khombedza and Kuluunda to appreciate the district’s response plan to contain the disease.

Vajpai described the situation in Salima as an emergency and called for action to contain the disease before the rainy season.

She said: “After appreciating the district’s response plan and interacting with community members, we noticed knowledge gaps among community members.

“Therefore, we recommend awareness campaigns to change behavioural patterns to contain the disease.”

Salima District director of health and social services Jones Chise commended Unicef for sharing preventive measures to control further spread of the outbreak.

However, he said the district was struggling to mobilise resources to implement planned activities, adding that assistance from Unicef will be appreciated.

“We are trying to implement activities and upscale surveillance with limited resources at hand. We will appreciate if more stakeholders support us in one way or the other,” said Chise.

Salima continues to record more cholera cases as it now has 631 and 14 deaths.