In response to a staggering toll of approximately 300 deaths in the ongoing cholera outbreak, President Hakainde Hichilema is calling for a significant shift in population dynamics.
Citing poor sanitation as a catalyst for the outbreak in densely populated urban areas, he urges citizens to abandon cities for the more spacious and hygienic environs of rural villages.
With over 7,500 reported cholera cases since October, the urgency of the situation is attributed to a recent spike of 500 new cases and 17 deaths within the last 24 hours, as reported by the health ministry. The postponement of school reopenings is among the preventative measures enacted.
The cholera epidemic has spread across eight of Zambia’s ten provinces, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to dispatch approximately one million cholera vaccine doses in the coming days to curb the escalating crisis.
President Hichilema, during a visit to the Heroes Stadium Cholera Treatment Centre in Lusaka, acknowledged the severity of the situation and pledged to implement “hard to swallow” measures to combat the waterborne disease.
He expressed concern about unplanned informal settlements and appeared to place blame on individuals who migrated to urban areas without clear objectives, contributing to poorly developed living conditions.
Moreover, the president criticised the idleness of some young people in urban centres, emphasising the importance of a shift to rural areas for agricultural pursuits as part of a broader strategy to mitigate the cholera threat
“There is so much land in the villages, there is clean water. We can build nice homes in the villages, which are not polluted,” Hichilema said.
He emphasised that the authorities would enhance and revamp existing slums in urban areas while actively working to thwart the emergence of new ones.
In neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe, increased surveillance measures are being implemented to prevent potential cross-border transmission.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with a prolonged struggle to contain the spread of cholera due to a scarcity of clean water for several months.
Cholera, a bacterial disease transmitted through contaminated water or food, leads to severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea. If left untreated, it has the potential to be fatal within hours.
