Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema is calling on people to move from towns to villages in the wake of a cholera outbreak that has claimed about 300 lives.
President Hichilema attributes the outbreak to poor sanitation in densely populated urban areas and suggests that relocating to rural areas with sufficient space and “perfect sanitation” would help decongest major towns.
Over 7,500 cholera cases have been reported since last October, with more than 500 new cases and 17 deaths in the last 24 hours. The reopening of schools is delayed as part of preventive measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to send around one million cholera vaccine doses to Zambia to contain the outbreak.
President Hichilema, during a visit to a cholera treatment center, indicated that the government would take “hard to swallow” measures to eradicate the waterborne disease.
He seems to attribute the outbreak to Zambians moving to towns “without a clear objective,” resulting in poorly planned informal settlements.
The president encourages young people to move to rural areas for farming, where there is ample land and clean water.
He pledges to upgrade existing slums in towns and prevent the emergence of new ones. Neighboring Mozambique and Zimbabwe are heightening surveillance to prevent cross-border transmission.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with cholera for months due to a lack of clean water.
Cholera is a bacterial disease transmitted through contaminated water or food, causing severe dehydration and potentially leading to death if left untreated.
Source-BBC
