By Ollus Ndomu
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has issued a stark call for citizens to abandon urban areas and relocate to villages due to a cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of approximately 300 people since last October.
Commenting on poor sanitation in densely populated towns for the outbreak, President Hichilema urged residents Wednesday to move to rural areas with ample space and “perfect sanitation” to decongest major towns.
With over 7,500 reported cholera cases since October and more than 700 new cases and 40 deaths in the last 48 hours, government has initiated preventative measures including delaying the reopening of schools, mass inspection of residential areas, burying of shallow wells and reducing time for religious gatherings.
The World Health Organization plans to send one million cholera vaccine doses, and Hichilema pledged “hard to swallow” measures to eradicate the waterborne disease.
During a visit to the Heroes Stadium Cholera Treatment Centre in the Capital, Lusaka, the President emphasized the need for drastic action to combat the outbreak, singling out poorly planned informal settlements in towns as breeding grounds for cholera.
Blaming citizens who moved to towns “without a clear objective,” President Hichilema urged young people to relocate to rural areas for farming, emphasizing the abundance of land and clean water. While upgrading existing slums in towns, the government aims to prevent the emergence of new ones.
Neighboring Mozambique and Zimbabwe are heightening surveillance to prevent cross-border transmission, with Zimbabwe battling its own cholera crisis due to a lack of clean water.
The bacterial disease, spread by contaminated water or food, causes severe dehydration and can be fatal if untreated.
In a dramatic incident at the Lusaka main post office on Cairo Road, business came to a halt on Thursday as a male Caucasian experienced diarrhea, underscoring the severity of the cholera crisis.
The relentless spread of the disease has led to the continued closure of schools, colleges, and universities, particularly impacting urban centers in Lusaka and parts of the Copperbelt, necessitating urgent and comprehensive measures to contain the surge.
