Campaigners for health rights in Malawi are applauding a national effort to stop a record-breaking cholera outbreak that has killed almost 1,400 people and touched all 29 of the nation’s districts.
The campaign was started on Monday with a commitment from President Lazarus Chakwera to lower the rate of waterborne sickness transmission and mortality. According to Chakwera, the majority of the population’s lack of proper hygiene habits is to blame for the spread.
The problem has gotten very bad, he said, because the behaviour hasn’t changed. “Over 1,300 funerals have taken place as a result of cholera thus far in the nation. Furthermore, the disease is still dispersing at a worrying rate. In our medical facilities around the nation, we see 500 to 600 new cases of cholera every day.”
The “Tithetse Kolera” programme, which stands for “Let’s eliminate cholera,” aims to fix water kiosks all throughout the nation and assist individuals in building toilets in their homes.
According to data, almost 40% of Malawians do not have access to toilets and instead waste themselves in the wild, according to Chakwera.
Many organisations in Malawi have long waged unsuccessful initiatives to end the custom of open defecation.
“Unlike animals who can just use any location as a toilet, we are sentient beings with dignity. If a location isn’t a restroom, don’t use it as one “Declared Chakwera. “Furthermore, a toilet is not something the government will give you, something that will be donated from overseas, or anything that will fall from the sky. Because you value yourself more than an animal, you should offer yourself this respect.”
READ ASLO: Olympic Eagles host Guinea on March 22 in Ibadan in a U-23 AFCON qualifier
Health officials express hope that the programme will lower the current 3.6% death rate for cholera to 1%.
Health rights activist George Jobe praised the effort but urged the government to go farther by dispelling misconceptions about the outbreak.
Jobe, who also serves as the executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network, referred to two recent episodes in the Lilongwe and Balaka districts in which irate residents attacked medical personnel and trashed two public health facilities, forcing them to close. The community members charged the medical staff with purposefully exposing patients to cholera through contaminated immunisations.
“Just because COVID-19 came before the present cholera outbreak doesn’t necessarily mean that it differs from earlier cholera outbreaks. Therefore, we will continue to advise the government that when we are promoting awareness, we must keep in mind that we are also fighting with reductions of COVID-19 “said Jobe.
Chakwera commanded the reopening of the medical institutions that had been shut down and promised the medical staff that they would be given the utmost protection.
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United Nations have both vowed to help the cholera campaign’s success in the interim.
“A multisector cholera appeal is now being prepared by the UN to improve the ability of the organisation and nongovernmental organisations to assist the government of Malawi. Next week, it will be launched “Rebecca Donto, a resident coordinator for the UN in Malawi, said this.
According to local media, Malawi needs an additional $40 million to effectively combat cholera.
