Cholera fight gets boost

CHOMBA MUSIKA,
CHAMBWA MOONGA,
JOHN CHAAMBWA
Lusaka
SCOTLAND has pledged £500,000 to help Zambia contain cholera, which has killed over 600 people since it broke out last October.
International Development Minister Christina McKelvie says the money is in response to an emergency appeal from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC).
IFRC had asked for funding to support measures, including contact tracing, vaccination and supply of safe drinking water, in parts of Zambia, where all 10 provinces have recorded cases of the waterborne disease.
“The IFRC reports [that] this rapid escalation has put a strain on local health services, and schools throughout the country have been closed in an attempt to stop the further spread of the disease,” Ms McKelvie said.
She said the £500,000 funding reflects the Scottish government’s ongoing commitment to ensure Scotland fulfils its role as a good global citizen through international development and humanitarian work.
It also reflects Scotland’s long-standing partnership with Zambia.
And Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary for educational services Joel Kamoko says schools should be kept clean and habitable beyond the cholera pandemic.
Due to cholera, schools, which were scheduled for reopening for term one on January 8, are waiting up to February 12 for the start of the first term.
Mr Kamoko featured on ‘The Agenda’ programme on ZNBC’S Radio 2 yesterday to discuss preparedness of the reopening of schools in the wake of the cholera outbreak and the Ministry of Education’s perspective.
On the general outlook of sanitation facilities in institutions of learning, Mr Kamoko said schools in the country are of different ages.
“There are schools which are recent with recent sanitation facilities and we have our old infrastructure which, by and large, is more of a challenge because of the old cisterns and the water points which have probably become expensive to maintain.
“But, generally, we want to assure the public that working alongside Ministry of Health experts and indeed experts from the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation,
we are ensuring that our schools have a sense of preparedness to ensure that they will be safe places to enable our children to learn without being points for exchanging diseases,” he said.
Meanwhile, the University of Zambia (UNZA), with help from the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, has started renovating ablutions and installing water taps around campus to avert cholera.
University of Zambia Students Union president Vincent Musilikani said toilets, shower mixers and taps are set to be renovated.
Mr Musilikani said Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Mike Mposha, who is Member of Parliament for Munali, which houses the university, came on board after the union had inadequate funds to renovate the sanitation facilities.
“After further engagements, the minister sent a team of engineers to assess all the plumbing challenges the halls of residence have,” Mr Musilikani said in an interview.
He said the union launched a ‘Keep UNZA clean campaign’ strategy to ensure the environment is habitable and clean for students…https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/