CHOLERA OUTBREAK DELAYS ZAMBIA’S SCHOOL OPENING TO FEB. 12

Mon 29 January 2024:

Education authorities in Zambia announced for the second time on Wednesday a further rescheduling of the reopening of schools as cholera cases continue to surge in the country.

Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima said that schools, which were expected to open on Jan. 29, will now open on Feb. 12. Initially, schools were scheduled to open on Jan. 8, 2023.

During a press briefing, Syakalima told reporters that the authorities insisted that schools should not open as scheduled due to the current cholera situation, following a country-wide assessment.

“The Ministry of Health has been monitoring the situation, and at the same time, the Ministry of Education has been conducting school inspections in all 10 provinces to ascertain their readiness to open,” he said. The ministry has since changed the school calendar for 2024.

Zambia has recorded 13,686 cholera cases and 518 deaths since October of last year.

The cholera outbreak in Zambia began in October 2023 following the detection of clusters of cases from Lusaka (Matero and Kanyama suburbs, currently known as the epicentre). Since then, the outbreak has spread to nine of the ten Provinces, with a marked increase in transmission observed between mid-December 2023 and January 2024.

As of 19 January 2024, a total of 11,304 cases and 448 deaths have been reported from 47 districts in nine Provinces, and of the total deaths reported, 199 were health facility deaths, while 249 were community deaths. Currently, 821 patients are on admission in various cholera treatment centres across the affected provinces, with 660 (80%) of the total admission cases being in Lusaka.

Five African Union (AU) Member States in Southern Africa have experienced protracted cholera outbreaks since 2023, namely Malawi, South Africa, and Mozambique, with Zambia and Zimbabwe being the most affected, with a sustained increase in cases and deaths in the last three months. Africa CDC recognises that Zambia borders with eight other AU Member States.

Thus, the need for regional/continental mobilisation, coordination and preparedness amongst these countries is imminent to discuss readiness and cross-border control on cholera and other re-emerging public health emergencies.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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