By Lisa Lamya
Blantyre, July 16, Mana: Malawian Health Ambassador, Maziko Matemba has said the country needs to ensure it adheres to good hygiene practices in order to halt Cholera.
Matemba was reacting to a declaration by the Ministry of Health through the Public Health Institute of Malawi that as of July 10, Cholera was no longer a public health concern.
“This is good news for the country, we always say that Cholera is preventable as such we should strive to maintain good hygiene so that Cholera does not resurface,” Matemba said.
A statement from the Ministry of Health made available to Malawi News Agency (Mana) indicated that the declaration has been made because the country has not registered any confirmed cases of Cholera from identified suspected cases.
Moreover, the statement said the declaration is in line with the public health surveillance guidance for Cholera by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control and the World Health Organization alert response systems for public health threats.
“Since 3rd March, 2022, when the Cholera outbreak was declared, Malawi has been battling with a protracted outbreak registering a total of 59, 376 cases and 1, 772 deaths due to high numbers of reported cases,” read part of the statement.
Due to high numbers of reported cases, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera declared a National Public Health Emergency on December 5, 2022.
Following the declaration, there was intensified implementation of preventive and control interventions, which significantly reduced Cholera, cases and led to the declaration of Cholera outbreak as no longer a National Public Health Emergency on August 5, 2023.
Despite the reduced numbers of Cholera cases, the country still registered sporadic cases from high-risk districts. For instance, a total of 286 cases including three deaths were reported from November 1, 2023 to June 5, 2024.
In light of this, the country continued implementing intensive surveillance and control measures at community and facility levels to completely halt the outbreak.
