Minister Pleads for Vigilance in the Fight against Cholera.

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda who is co-chairperson of the presidential task force on Covid 19 and Cholera has called on members of the public to be vigilant in the fight against the Cholera outbreak.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe on Friday, Chiponda announced that from November 2023 to 4 January 2024, the country recorded 47 cases and two deaths, with no single case in treatment centres.

This is against 11,000 Cholera cases and 374 deaths recorded the same period between November 2022 to 4 January, 2023.

“We are currently doing well but I am here to call upon members of the public, let us hold hands and prevent cholera by following the best sanitation and hygiene practices,” says Chiponda.

The Minister adds ” Cholera can easily be prevented but also easily spread, we therefore need to be careful if we are to win this battle with the rains just starting.”

According to Chiponda, her Ministry together with the Ministry of Water and Sanitation and other partners are working hand in hand to improve the availability of portable water which was found to be among the contributing factors to the high cases recorded in 2022 and 2023.

Meanwhile, while commending the government for the gains, Community Health Ambassador Maziko Matemba has tipped the government to closely monitor the country’s bordering districts such as Zambia which is hit hard by the Cholera outbreak.

“We need to celebrate this good news with caution, because as we are talking our neighbor Zambia has been hit hard by cholera, there is need for close monitoring and surveillance in the border districts if we are to contain it,” says Matemba.

Malawi registered the worst Cholera outbreak from 2022 to 2023 killing about 1769 people.