Contain Cholera outbreak, UPND urges Government

The opposition UPND has urged the Patriotic Front Government to contain the outbreak of cholera in Lusaka.

The opposition party has made the demand in a statement below today through its Spokesperson Charles Kakoma.

Lusaka has recorded confirmed cases of cholera from Kanyama. We have resisted commenting on this outbreak so as not to be wrongly viewed as politicising an unfortunate incident that is affecting our people. However, the lackluster response from Government, and specifically the Ministries of Health and Local Government, leaves us no option but to issue this statement.

Cholera is a very infectious disease spread mostly by water and food that has been contaminated by human faeces containing the bacteria. Cholera is basically a disease of poverty; risk factors include poor sanitation and not enough clean water. One of the first things a responsible Government will do in any infectious disease outbreak is to inform the people of how they could possibly prevent themselves from contracting the disease.

We expected Government media, such as ZNBC TV & Radio, Times of Zambia and the Daily Mail, to inform the nation of the symptoms of Cholera, how it is transmitted, treated and how it can be prevented. This has not happened. We can only speculate the reason or assume negligence on the part of Government.

There is human life at stake here and we cannot afford to be complacent. We urge those responsible to use all means at their disposal to contain this outbreak before it spreads to compounds in Lusaka and to other areas of the country.

Charles Kakoma

UPND Spokesperson