PRESS STATEMENT ON THE CHOLERA SITUATION IN ZAMBIA by Minister of Health (MoH) SylviaTembo-Masebo Lusaka – Tuesday 23rd January, 2024

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
MINISTRY OF HEALTH

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE CHOLERA SITUATION IN ZAMBIA
(Lusaka – 23rd January, 2024)

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

GOOD MORNING

We continue fighting this cholera outbreak which has posed a threat to the health of our nation. We remain united fighting this outbreak in a multisectoral manner.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me highlight the current situation of this cholera outbreak as it stands in the last 24 hours. 433 new cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours countrywide whereas yesterday we had 449 cases. Today, these new cases are from 7 provinces and distributed as follows: 368 in Lusaka Province, 14 in Copperbelt Province, 26 in Central Province, 12 in Southern Province, 3 in Eastern Province, 1 in Western Province and 9 in North-western Province. We did not record any case from Northern, Luapula and Muchinga Provinces. The suspected cholera case from Chifunabali district, in Luapula Province has been confirmed as culture positive. This is the first case we are reporting from Luapula province since this outbreak began in October, 2023.

In the last 24 hours, we have discharged 526 patients from the various treatment centres. This is higher than the 421 discharges made yesterday, 482 on Sunday and the 434 discharges on Saturday. We now have in admission to our treatment facilities 844 patients compared to yesterday when we had 893 in admission.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We sadly lost 8 adults and 6 children (total 14) in the last 24 hours. This is slightly lower than the 18 we reported yesterday. All these deaths happened in Lusaka Province. Of these 14 deaths reported, 9 of them were from the community and brought already dead to our facilities. 5 deaths were from our cholera treatment centers with 2 who died within minutes of admission and 3 had non-cholera related complications.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lusaka province which is the most affected province has recorded 368 cases, in the past 24 hours. This is lower than the 389 cases reported yesterday. Lusaka district has recorded 292 cases compared to 325 cases reported yesterday. Of these 292 new cases, 198 are adults whereas 94 are children. We have a total of 691 patients who are in admission to various Lusaka-based treatment facilities. This is lower than yesterday when we had 743 in admission.

At Hero’s Stadium cholera treatment centre, as of 06 hours this morning, we had a total of 568 patients in admission compared to 612 patients we had in admission yesterday. 250 are males, 121 are females and 195 are children. 240 were referred to this facility in the last 24 hours compared to 203 yesterday. We had no death which happened in the facility in the past 24 hours. We also made 245 discharges during this same 24-hour period and referred 8 patients to the Levy Treatment Center.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
We continue making steady progress in protecting our people through the administration of oral cholera vaccines.
For the past seven days since we launched the vaccination program, we have vaccinated a cumulative 1,454,807 individuals in our hotspot areas. This vaccination coverage is currently at 90% of our targeted population. 46% of those vaccinated are males whereas 54% are females. The total number of individuals vaccinated in each of these areas is distributed as:

Chawama: 318,907
Chipata: 384,833
Kanyama: 367,017
Matero: 271,279
Rufunsa: 36,416
Chongwe: 23,540
Chilanga: 25,819
Lunagwa: 26,920

We are still facing some challenges with some people refusing to accept vaccinations. Currently, Luangwa had 68,159 people refusing vaccinations. These vaccines are safe and are meant to protect our people. Therefore ,let us all join forces in speaking against vaccine hesitancy and refusal.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
Again I would like to appeal to Well-Wishers. While we navigate through this challenging time, I must emphasize the critical role that compassion and solidarity play in our fight against cholera. I earnestly appeal to well-wishers and transport providers not to hesitate to help assign some vehicles in strategic wards and communities to transport patients from their homes to the health facilities. We implore everyone to join hands in ensuring swift and safe transportation for those seeking medical help. By doing so, you may have helped to save a life.

Fellow citizens, Members of the Press, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
Again, fellow Zambians, let us to adhere to the cholera prevention measures. Let us all remember and practice the 3Cs by
1. Using Clean Water for drinking, and using clean and safe water to brush our teeth, wash and prepare food.
2. Having Clean hands – by washing our hands often with soap and safe water before, during, and after preparing food. Hands should be washed as well with soap and safe water before, during, and after using the toilet.
3. Chlorinating our drinking water or boiling it, even if it is from a borehole or from the service providers
4. Visit the nearest healthcare facility immediately we experience symptoms of watery diarrhoea and vomiting.

I once more call upon each one of us to mobilize our neighbors and communities to actively participate in hygiene campaigns and awareness initiatives.

LET US come together and Kick Out Cholera from our lovely country, Zambia.
I Thank you!
[Original Signed]

Hon. Sylvia T. Masebo, MP
MINISTER OF HEALTH

President Hakainde Hichilema with Health Minister Sylvia Tembo-Masebo at Hereos Stadium