Africa-Press – Malawi. The European Union (EU) has allocated 540,000 euros in emergency funding to Malawi, which has been battling a cholera outbreak. However, the EU indicates, in a statement, that the funds will be provided through its humanitarian partner, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef).
“Our humanitarian partner Unicef will use this funding to address the epidemic through a health operation aiming to reduce the mortality and the spread of the disease. This action will include an emergency water and sanitation component in the affected areas,” the statement reads.
After Malawi registered the first case of cholera this year in February, an outbreak was declared in March 2022. To date, 29 districts have reported cholera cases during the current outbreak, with the total of cases reported since the onset of the outbreak standing at over 8,000.
The EU says Malawi’s situation has been compounded by extreme weather events, namely tropical storms Ana and Gombe, which hit the country between January and March this year.
Last week Monday, the Ministry of Health started the administration of the second dose of the oral cholera vaccine in 14 districts of the country. The exercise was for one week.
This comes after a successful administration of the first oral cholera vaccine in eight districts of the country in May this year Health Ministry spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe indicated that they targeted all cholera hard-hit areas during this phase.
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