Luanda – Angola’ s Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta said on Monday in Luanda that the country has a multisectoral national contingency plan to prevent the transmission of cholera from across borders.
The minister, who was speaking on the sidelines of the extraordinary session of the SADC Council of Ministers on cholera, said that there are already multidisciplinary teams on the ground, on the borders at risk, reinforced with means of diagnosis, training and awareness raising of the populations, and an alert has been launched for territorial epidemiological surveillance.
Since January 2023, a cholera outbreak has affected the SADC region, with cases recorded, until last Sunday, in five countries, namely Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She said the ministries of Health, Environment, Energy and Water, Territorial Administration, Defense, Interior, Finance, Family Social Action and Women's Promotion, Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication and Culture and Tourism were involved.
She highlighted that Angola has no reported cases of cholera, but is on alert about acute syndromes of diarrhea and vomiting, which are signs of the disease.
According to the minister, the country has increased responsibility and, in this sense, launched the alert due to the increase in cases and deaths in Zambia and Malawi, as well as the emergence of the disease in several countries, including South Africa.
She said there was a need, at the regional level, to take concentrated measures to contain the spread of cholera and eliminate it by 2030.
Silvia Lutucuta called on to society to take fundamental individual protection measures, such as frequent hand washing with soap, using treated and boiled water, washing vegetables and other products thoroughly, as well as basic sanitation.
SADC, she added, is concerned about the resurgence of the cholera outbreak in the region since 2023, which began in Malawi.
More than 660 cases were reviewed, with the most affected countries being Zambia and Malawi.
She added that the region's authorities are working with partners in order to mobilize resources to carry out early diagnosis and treatment of patients, fundamentally, to promote community-based health and work more at the local level, mobilize vaccines for affected countries and beyond. FMA/VC/DOJ
