Malawi’s health authorities on Monday said the country’s healthcare service delivery system is being weighed down by the latest cholera outbreak, which has already killed 98 people since it was declared in March, reported The Anadolu Agency.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said at least 3,246 others have been infected with cholera so far.
“We are doing all we can to contain the outbreak and our officials are in all affected areas to help the people with health services,” Malawi’s Health Ministry Spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe told Anadolu Agency in a telephonic interview.
As of Sept. 26, a total of 22 districts have reported cholera cases.
Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has attributed the rise in the number of cases to poor food hygiene, lack of safe water, and low latrines coverage and usage.
Chiponda said the government with support from development partners have put in place a number of measures to contain the situation. She said the ministry is chlorinating water in communities with no safe water, setting up treatment centers, and administering oral cholera vaccine.
Recently, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have expressed concern over the increasing number of cholera cases, warning that, if the outbreak spreads more, it would overwhelm the already overburdened public healthcare service delivery points.
Health experts have since warned that with the onset of rains expected in October, Malawi, which has a population of about 18 million, could face a “cholera crisis”.
In related news, last week, the WHO declared Malawi to be the first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness.
Malawi is the fourth country in Africa to achieve this milestone after Ghana, Gambia and Togo.
Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and is one of the conditions known as neglected tropical diseases.
