WE MUST ERADICATE CHOLERA - HH
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has declared that he will do everything in his power to ensure that cholera is eradicated in Zambia and that he is ready to lose an election because all he cares for are the lives of Zambians he is governing.
And President Hichilema has also directed the Ministry of Health to employ all the volunteers in cholera centres who have been rendering their services in fighting the outbreak.
President Hichilema has called for concerted efforts to eradicate the cholera cases in the country and that he would be taking tough decisions, including raising down Townships which were littered with unplanned buildings which were often the epicenter of the epidemic.
He has also directed the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to stop approving any building in townships which were perennially the epicentre of cholera.
Mr. Hichilema said regardless of the categories, all volunteers should be employed in government through an organised manner and all those who work in cholera centres are to be employed.
“I also want to direct the Ministry of Local Government to ensure there is no market in the country that is operating without clean water and sanitation, and that no new unplanned settlements should be put up in the country,’’ he said.
Mr. Hichilema was speaking at the National Cholera Centre at the Heroes Stadium while he interacted with patients in Lusaka yesterday.
And Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said the country has made tremendous progress in managing the cholera outbreak.
Ms. Masebo said the government remained devoted and resilient to managing the outbreak which became a health threat leading to 17, 169 cases recorded and 622 deaths since the outbreak in October.
“The prolonged drought and warmer weather have allowed several carriers of pathogens and germs to remain active for longer periods and this has created room for disease spread,’’ she said.
Ms Masebo said the country has started to see a drop in cases recorded, as in the last 24 hours, 197 cases were carried countrywide with Lusaka recording 134.
“The Heroe’s stadium has not recorded any death in the last 10 days, and admissions at the facility have dropped to 65 from 112 in the last 24 hours,’’ she said.
She said 60 percent of the deaths have been happening in communities and people have been brought in dead (BID), the majority of those who died in facilities are also people who did not report early to facilities.