Tue, 10 Oct 2017 11:04:29 +0000
By KALOBWE BWALYA
VENDORS in Lusaka are worried that cholera which has broken out in some parts of the city may spread to the Central Business District (CBD) if measures are not urgently put in place.
The vendors said they feared the diseases would easily spread to the CBD because of uncollected garbage and poor hygiene standards presently prevailing in the area.
The traders told the Daily Nation in an interview that following the outbreak in Chipata Compound and Mazyopa area there was urgent need for the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Water and Sanitation to quickly move in and put in place measures that will prevent the diseases from spreading.
James Mbeze of Mtendere compound said there was needed for the relevant ministries to intervene urgently before lives were lost.
He said the situation was worrying especially that the disease had broken out in high density areas, therefore the Manja Pamodzi project by Zambeef should be intensified.
Mr Mbeze however urged the general public to ensure that they kept their surroundings clean, saying stopping people from shaking hands was not enough to fight the pandemic.
Another resident Bertha Mungwai of the same area said there was need for traders and marketeers to embark on a cleanup exercise in collaboration with the local authority as most garbage was being generated by the traders.
“The Ministry of Health in collaboration with other ministries should put in place measures that will contain the outbreak before lives are lost,” said Ms Mungwai.
And Ferrai Kapui of Chawama compound said it was likely that the disease would spread to other areas because most compounds including the CDB were filthy.
He warned people who were in habit of buying food from the streets to refrain from doing so.
Mr Kapui said the Ministry of Health should with immediate effort ban the sale of fritters, nshima and other food stuffs at bus stations and public gatherings to contain the disease.
And Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said Lusaka district has been put on cholera alert following the outbreak. He said so far only 11 cases had been recorded and no death.
Dr Chilufya said the ministry had intensified awareness campaigns to equip people with necessary knowledge on the disease and how to prevent it.
“So far we have 11 cases that are being attended to. We are putting the whole Lusaka on cholera alert, we will intensify water sampling in all areas of Lusaka and ensure that health education and sensitisation is intensified,” Dr Chilufya said.
He said his ministry was working with other stakeholders such as the World Health Organisation, Lusaka City Council and the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company to contain the situation because the outbreak in the area was multisectoral.
Dr Chilufya said the ministry had since put up a screening centre to investigate cholera cases while ministry was also giving out chlorine for people to disinfect their pit latrines.
