SADC united on cholera outbreak

LUSAKA – Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers of health have rejected the submission by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to declare the cholera outbreak a public health emergency in the region.
Africa CDC governing board chairperson Sylvia Masebo has disclosed that the SADC ministers of health are of the view that individual countries must decide to either declare the cholera outbreak a health emergency or not.
Chairing the extraordinary session of the governing board in Addis Ababa, Ms Masebo, who is Zambia’s minister of Health, stated that the cholera outbreak has affected almost 15 countries in SADC and East Africa.
Ms Masebo encouraged countries to develop proactive interventions to prevent future occurrences.
She further commended Africa CDC on the remarkable progress being made in operationalising the Lusaka Call-to-Action to ensure that African Union members develop clear public health emergency operation centre road maps.
“We need to support the Africa CDC to carry out its mandate and work diligently to address multiple public health threats and epidemics in Africa,” Ms Masebo said.
This is according to a statement issued by first secretary for press and tourism at the Zambian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Inutu Mwanza. ZANIS..