ON FEBRUARY 13 this year, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi launched a national campaign that carried the gravity of a battle cry: “Tithetse kolera (End Cholera)”. He spoke from Mgona, one of the cholera hotspots in capital city Lilongwe, as patients were ferried to health centres. He declared that the landlocked southeastern African nation’s immediate challenge was to reduce the fatality rate of the current cholera outbreak from 3.2 per cent to the global average of about 1 per cent by the end of the month.
The acute diarrhoeal infection, caused by consuming food or water contaminated with bacterium Vibrio cholerae, has been endemic to Malawi since 1998, when the country reported its first major outbreak of the disease. Cases remained confined to the flood-prone southern districts, occurring usually during the rainy season of November-May. But the current outbreak is unprecedentedly protracted—it started in the southern district of Machinga in March 2022 and by February 2023, had spread to all the 29 districts of the country, infecting 36,940 people and killing more than 1,200, as per February 9, 2023 update by the World Health Organization (who). “This is the deadliest outbreak of cholera in the country’s history,” says who in a statement.
What makes the outbreak a matter of concern is that the current surge in cases comes after the country had managed to bring down cholera cases to just two in 2021.
Esta historia es de la edición March 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Look Beyond Dust
Reinvent National Clean Air Programme to focus on fine particulate matter and trans-boundary pollution
PLAN THEM COOL
As urban India turns into a heat trap, the government must focus on improving cities' liveability
Vision 2030
Economic growth must take into account needs of energy transition, climate mitigation, with action aligned as per India's 2030 climate goals
FIX OUR FOOD
Chemical-dependent farming, lax labelling laws, rising anti-microbial resistance must top the agenda
BATTLE THE CAR BULGE
Clean, affordable, integrated and accessible public transport the only solution
CONSERVE NOW
Disregard for biodiversity conservation over the past two decades needs immediate redressal
SCRAP THE DUMP
Disincentivise garbage dumping, invest in behavioural change
THINK LONG-TERM
India needs continued emphasis on flagship programmes, aligned to long-term planning that focusses on water security and circular economy in a climate-risked era
OVERHAUL OVERDUE
Hold polluting industries accountable for public health risks, environmental hazards, climate change; provide them support for green transition
IT'S NOW OR NEVER
Clean energy sectors need demand-driven markets and domestic industries that can cater to the entire value chain