Provision of safe water is priority

Only the government believes it is doing a good job in its response to the cholera outbreak in Malawi but in reality, we should not be talking about this disease whose long-lasting remedy is safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

To think that cholera would soon be the story of the past is deliberately ignoring the attitude of the government: “Anything that has no effect on the livelihood of the elite is nothing to worry about.”

Have we, for instance, found an explanation why Kauma will likely have a number of cholera cases but none in Area 12 which is just a stone throw away? The answer is simple: the two groups are living in totally different worlds – the “haves” and the “have-nots”.

Perhaps starting another debate about, the haves and have-nots, will confuse the readers especially because the conversation here is about whether the government is doing enough in its response to cholera.

Firstly, the cholera outbreak is reflective of investment in ignorance and now we are just reaping from what we invested in. Surely, cholera has no carrier but the activities of the people in the community will contribute to the outbreak somehow. In this age, a lot of people in Malawi still believe that cholera emanates from witchcraft. The reason for this thinking is that since cholera would kill fast, people in the community would believe that anything that kills you fast must be connected with magic. Wasn’t it just recently that a lot of people believed that anyone who died while taking a bath meant that the person was struck by a magic hammer? Since there is more awareness than before, most people in the community now understand that high blood pressure can indeed kill. Perhaps the question is: Has the government, through relevant departments or ministries done enough to explain to the people how cholera is spread? It is easy to blame the communities for their role in the spread of cholera but it is the responsibility of the government that should be addressing the knowledge gaps.

Secondly, there seems to be no enforcement of sanitation and hygiene in our cities and towns. For argument’s sake, we usually see food certificates hanging on the walls of restaurants which indicate that the restaurants have met minimum standards to provide food to the people. But when one goes around the cities and towns, there are a lot of people using make-shift restaurants selling chiwaya but the hygiene of the place is not that good. Is cholera being spread by the people selling chiwaya or the government which is failing to enforce the standards by taking to task the city or town councils?

For instance, all the three cities – Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre – banned the sale of ready-made foods to try and combat the spread of cholera.  This was a commendable decision but this was just a public stunt so that Malawians should say the city councils are doing something to control the spread of cholera. But if you were to visit the cities today, the ban was never enforced and you can see food vendors operating their businesses as usual. This only shows that the city councils can relax knowing well that the government itself cannot do anything about it.

Thirdly, the government is yet to step up efforts to respond to the cholera outbreak. Knowing well that a lot of people drink water from unprotected sources, there is no indication yet that the government is working with the water boards to either distribute chlorine or treat the water before use.

If you see pictures of officials either distributing chlorine or pretending to be working in Lilongwe, just know that is being done for publicity and not to save people’s lives. Instead, these officials should go to rural areas where the media is absent because the greater benefit is to see that most people get help.

It is a reality that most rural areas do not have boreholes and where boreholes are available, sanitation is an issue. For instance in Ngolowindo in Salima, there is a household where a woman was diagnosed with cholera and fortunately she was treated and now she getting better. However, after tests were carried out, it was found out that the water from the borehole is contaminated yet the borehole is not sealed. The warning to the users was only through word of mouth. What is obvious is that some people stopped using the borehole nearby while others who are still using the water are either boiling the water before use or using chlorine but how effective can this be? For instance, for those using chlorine, can they apply the right quantities always? For a government that is serious, you would expect to see workers in the communities. Their presence alone would generate the interest among the people and who in turn would seek proper guidance on how to avoid the disease.

Indeed the government might be seen to be doing something about the cholera outbreak but I believe there are a lot of people in the communities who are still vulnerable just because the government is yet to step up its efforts.