BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi’s government launched a plan Thursday to stop cholera outbreaks by 2030.
Officials say that if the government and international partners can effectively cooperate, they can greatly reduce the prevalence of cholera in the southern African country, where it has killed at least 1,700 people over the past three years.
Partners include the World Health Organization, or WHO, and UNICEF.
Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda said, “The goal of the plan is to reduce the annual cholera rate by 90% and achieve the case fatality rate of less than 1% by the year 2030, as recommended by WHO.”
Kandodo-Chiponda said there are several ways to achieve the goal, all of which involve the government, development partners, civil society organizations and other stakeholders supplying expertise and funding to support prevention and control efforts.
She said those efforts will be “to increase access to safe water and sanitation facilities and promote improved hygiene practices; to raise awareness and promote community-led initiatives to prevent and to respond to outbreaks.”
Malawi has experienced cholera outbreaks over the past three years, with the most severe occurring in 2022, resulting in over 1,700 deaths nationwide.
During Thursday’s event, the Malawian government launched an oral cholera vaccine campaign targeting four districts — Mzimba, Karonga, Balaka and Machinga — to address a recent resurgence of cholera there.
Statistics from the Presidential Task Force on Cholera show the disease has caused 14 deaths since September.
Shadrack Omol, UNICEF’s representative in Malawi, said the 2024 resurgence of cholera shows that root causes of the infectious bacterial disease persist.
“Health interventions … are complimentary in support,” Omol said. “The key to addressing the root causes is in provision of safe drinking water across our country, improving sanitation and improving hygiene practices.”
Malawi’s public health experts say goals to eradicate the disease within five years will depend on stakeholder commitments.
George Jobe, executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network, said, “If financial investments [and] technical investments from partners are done, we believe we can win this battle. It should not be a document that should grow dust on the shelves.”
Kandodo-Chiponda said the operational plans will be reviewed at least once every year to keep ahead of any possible cholera outbreaks.
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