Africa-Press – Namibia. The Ministry of Health and Social Services is calling for refresher training for food handlers, better food storage practices and regular hygiene education for school staff and pupils.
This was said by the ministry’s spokesperson, Walters Kamaya, yesterday, following the Maria Mwengere Secondary School food poisoning incident last week Sunday.
“The meal consisted of macaroni, white thick soup, carrots, cabbage, beetroot, wors and jungle oats consumed by most of the pupils,” Kamaya said.
Thirty-three pupils were admitted to Rundu Intermediate Hospital, while 104 were sent to the clinic last Wednesday for medical attention in the Sambyu circuit of the Kavango East region.
“Several pupils fell ill on Sunday after eating a common meal, in what health officials suspect was a case of food poisoning. The pupils started vomiting and complaining of stomach pain and diarrhoea a few hours after lunch. This incident should serve as a lesson. While we are happy pupils recovered, we need to improve hygiene and food safety in hostel kitchens to prevent future outbreaks,” he said.
The ministry confirmed the outbreak and said it acted fast to prevent the situation from worsening.
“We are pleased the situation was quickly contained and that the majority of pupils recovered without needing further referral. We are still waiting for laboratory results to confirm the exact source,” said Kamaya.
According to Kamaya, investigators collected stool samples and leftover food for testing.
“An inspection of the hostel kitchen found food left uncovered at room temperature and pupils helping with peeling vegetables,” he noted. He said the investigation aims to establish the source of the suspected food poisoning.
Action Democratic Movement leader Vincent Kanyetu yesterday said workers in some public sectors are not passionate about the responsibilities entrusted to them. He said leaders are too weak in supervisory roles.
“People are just working for the sake of a salary for their survival without rendering service or delivering service which the public is expecting from them,” Kanyetu said.
He said government buildings are covered with spiders, including hostels and hospitals, which become a threat to health. Kanyetu applauded the ministry’s idea of introduce training on food handling and hygiene.
“This is a wake-up call to the ministry. They are supposed to do this training for every employee recruited to cook in the hostel or hospital,” he noted. Kanyetu also highlighted the lack of accountability of some government officials.
Kavango East social activist Frans Moyo says the increased number of food poisoning cases is quite embarrassing and disappointing.
“It has become a national concern, but no action has been taken to solve the problem,” he says.
Moyo says leaders should be held accountable for deaths due to food poisoning, adding that members of the community have become too reluctant.
“I think for all these years these issues of food poisoning have been happening in the region, so we were a bit reluctant,” he notes.
Moyo says most leaders considered it a normal thing.
“We have laboratories all over the world, and if we don’t have those types of laboratories in Namibia, let’s send samples to neighbouring countries to help us,” he notes.
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