SADC to hold summit on cholera

Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders will hold a virtual extra-ordinary summit on February 2 on the raging region-wide cholera outbreak which has claimed thousands of lives, and infected more others.

In a statement, SADC said the summit will, among others things, receive and consider national reports on the cholera outbreak from affected member states, examine the state of preparedness and responses to the disease in the entire region.

“The fight against cholera aligns with the African Regional Framework for the Implementation of the Global Strategy for Cholera Prevention and Control, 2018 – 2030. This Framework supports the new global strategy for cholera control at the country level, providing a definitive pathway towards a world where cholera no longer poses a threat to public health,” it said.

The summit follows that held earlier this month of SADC health ministers and partners drawn from World Health Organization, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to regional health authorities, 13 countries are battling one of the worst cholera outbreaks to hit the region in years.

New Ziana