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Committee Chairperson Dr. Mathews Ngwale, in an interview on Thursday, said the unhygienic situation around the hospital’s treatment Centre was worrisome as it will orchestrate further spread of the disease which has already hit the district hard.
“We came to inspect the district hospital and Ntaja health Centre to appreciate several issues including how they are handling cholera issues. We have learned of late that Machinga is among the districts with the highest cholera cases.
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“As a parliamentary committee on health we, therefore, thought it wise to inspect Machinga to appreciate the reasons behind the continued rise of cholera cases,” said Dr. Ngwale.
He further said the situation in Machinga was very worrisome as cases of cholera were still on the rise as compared to other districts where cholera cases were going down.
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“Machinga district needs to put a lot of effort into improved hygiene. We are very disappointed with the situation. The district needs to up their effort by making sure that hygiene issues are taken seriously starting with the district’s cholera treatment unit. The hygiene condition here is not that convincing and it can further the spread of the disease.,” said Dr. Ngwale.
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Machinga District Commissioner Lucia Chidalengwa acknowledged the issue of poor hygiene around the district hospital’s cholera treatment Centre saying she had asked the Director of Health and Social Services to look into the issue with urgency.
“I have already talked to the Director of Health and Social Services to clean the surrounding area, an organization called Momentum Health has also helped us by recruiting a cleaner who will help in cleaning the facility,” said Chidalengwa.
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Machinga District Hospital has registered 651 Cholera cases with 30 deaths.
Currently, it has 67 cholera active cases admitted to the Cholera Treatment Unit.