Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has called on people to consider relocating from urban areas to villages in the aftermath of a cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of approximately 300 individuals.
President Hichilema highlighted poor sanitation in densely populated urban zones as conducive to cholera outbreaks. To alleviate congestion in major towns, he urged residents to consider moving to rural areas where there is ample space and “perfect sanitation.”
The cholera outbreak, with over 7,500 reported cases since last October, remains a pressing concern. In the last 24 hours alone, there have been more than 500 new cases and 17 deaths, prompting the health ministry to postpone the reopening of schools as part of preventive measures.
Eight out of Zambia’s ten provinces have now been impacted by the cholera outbreak.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is preparing to dispatch approximately one million doses of the cholera vaccine in the coming days to aid in controlling the disease’s spread.
In response to the crisis, President Hichilema visited the Heroes Stadium Cholera Treatment Centre in the capital, Lusaka, on Wednesday, where over 1,000 patients are currently undergoing treatment.
He said the government would take some “hard to swallow” measures in an effort to eradicate the waterborne disease.
He appeared to blame some Zambians who moved to towns “without a clear objective” for the mushrooming of poorly planned informal settlements.
Some young people were “hanging around and doing nothing” in towns instead of moving to rural areas to farm, the president said.
“There is so much land in the villages; there is clean water. We can build nice homes in the villages, which are not polluted,” Mr Hichilema said.
President Hakainde Hichilema has announced plans to improve existing slums in towns and prevent the formation of new ones as part of efforts to address the cholera outbreak in Zambia.
In neighboring Mozambique and Zimbabwe, heightened surveillance is in place to prevent cross-border transmission of the disease. Zimbabwe has been grappling with its own battle against cholera for months, primarily due to a lack of access to clean water.
Cholera, a bacterial disease transmitted through contaminated water or food, leads to severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea. If left untreated, it can result in death within hours. The Zambian authorities are taking measures to curb the spread of the disease and enhance living conditions in urban areas.