Malawi contains cholera outbreak

The Ministry of Health has announced that the country has successfully contained a cholera outbreak, which claimed dozens of lives from 2022 to 2024.

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera declared cholera outbreak a National Public Health Emergency on 5 December 2022 when the country registered an unprecedented high numbers of reported cases.

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The declaration paved the way for the intensification of preventive and control measures to contain the outbreak.

A year down the line, the Ministry of Health, through the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM), has announced that the country has successfully eliminated cholera outbreak.

In a statement signed by Principal Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Samson Mndolo, the ministry said the country has not recorded any cholera case for the past four weeks.

But Mndolo was quick to point out that despite the reduced numbers of cholera, the country still registered sporadic cases from high risk districts.

“For example, a total of 286 cases, including three deaths, were reported from 15 districts from 1^st November, 2023, to 5^th June, 2024. In response, the country continued implementing intensive surveillance and control measures at both community and facility levels in all the affected districts to completely halt the outbreak,” reads the statement in part.

Mndolo appealed to Malawians to continue observing prevention measures, including drinking of safe water, food hygiene, regular hand-washing with soap, consistent use of toilets and reporting of any cholera suspected cases to the nearest health facilities.