Several African Countries Stretched as Cholera Takes Hold

In Zambia, the health ministry announced that cholera cases have reached 7,000, and 273 people have died. Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo announced in late December that measures have been heightened to contain the outbreak of cholera which has now spread to 12 districts in the country.

In Zimbabwe, as schools re-open, Education Minister Torerai Moyo encouraged schools to promote the washing of hands by installing hand-washing points around the school. However, the teachers union, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), has condemned the government's decision to reopen schools amid a widespread cholera outbreak, calling the move reckless.

For the past three months, the country has been dealing with the cholera outbreak with the government embarking on an operation named Chenesa Harare that will see garbage collected from the city while the treasury is set to provide funds to procure chemicals for water purification.

In Mozambique, a wave of misinformation riots about the causes of cholera led to the murder of at least three community leaders and the destruction of 50 houses in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that from October until January, the number of cholera cases stands at 8,878 with deaths at 25.