Luanda - Angolan Foreign Minister Téte António Monday in Luanda called for the creation of a united front to sustainably prevent the spread of cholera in the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as any future diseases or pandemics in the region.
Speaking at the opening of the Extraordinary Session of the SADC Council of Ministers via video conference, the Angolan diplomat said the scenario calls for a coordinated regional response to meet the challenge, since no country can fight a disease like cholera alone, which does not respect borders.
A cholera outbreak has been affecting the SADC region since January 2023, with cases recorded in five countries as of last Sunday, namely Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cholera is an acute bacterial infection of intestinal disease, transmitted by direct fecal-oral contamination or by ingesting contaminated water or food. Its main symptoms are diarrhea and dehydration that leads to death.
Téte António spoke of the need for the region to prioritize investment in health infrastructure, prevention and health promotion for healthier communities.
The Angolan top diplomat said he hopes that the meeting would define concrete actions to help the Heads of State to outline policies that would allow sustainable progress to be made in eradicating cholera by 2030.
The minister added that as long as the region demonstrates resilience and collective strength in the face of other challenges, such as HIV/AIDS and Covid-19, there will be significant progress in preventing and mitigating the devastating impacts of these pandemics.
The meeting aimed to discuss ways of coordinating efforts to prevent and control the spread of cholera in the region, among other issues.
Angola is at epidemic prevention high alert level two, due to the emergence of cholera cases in border countries such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo . FMA/VC/VIC/DAN
