Luanda — The minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, said on Friday, in Luanda, that 660,000 cases of cholera have been registered since 2022, in countries that are part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Speaking to the press at the end of an extraordinary SADC summit held in virtual format, led by the acting president of the community, João Lourenço, the minister said that of this number, there are records of more than four thousand deaths.
According to the minister, the region has been affected, since 2022, by outbreaks of cholera, a situation that is worsened by the difficulty in supplying drinking water to the entire population, basic sanitation and climate change.
She went on to say that the situation is also influenced by natural determinants, such as torrential rains and cyclones which, in fact, put the population at risk.
Sílvia Lutucuta added that during the festive season and the beginning of this year, there was a considerable increase in cases, by around 80 percent, in most SADC countries, with the exception of Angola, Namibia and Botswana, due to the mobility of people and climate change.
She clarified that cholera will be treated as a threat to the health of the region's populations and economy, to allow for the implementation of concerted actions.
The minister spoke of the need to support the most vulnerable countries, to have preventive vaccination throughout the community, to increase
control over epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and cross-border and synchronized vaccination.
She promised that partners, specifically the World Health Organization, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), will continue to provide technical support and mobilize financial resources for countries of concern.
She highlighted that they will continue to invest in the industry to manufacture medicines and vaccines, for greater autonomy and combating the diseases that threaten this region.
Created in 1992, SADC is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to cooperation and socio-economic integration in the region, as well as cooperation in matters of politics and security.
SADC includes Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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