West Africa: Cleaner Toilets to Save Slums From Cholera

Freetown/Conakry/Accra/Dakar — Aid agencies are scrambling to treat thousands of cholera patients in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where the number of infections is mounting by over 250 per day. Most patients are from the city's various urban slums, where open defecation is rife, toilets are rare, sewage is improperly disposed of, and awareness of cholera is very low. Water and sanitation specialists say unless these problems are addressed, cholera will continue to flourish both in Sierra Leone and throughout West Africa.

By 28 July, 15,126 people had contracted cholera in West Africa, the most affected countries being Sierra Leone (at least 5,369 cases, but thought to have increased dramatically since then), Ghana (5,121 cases), Niger (5,023 cases), and Guinea (802 cases), according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

...

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.