[ANALYSIS] Why cholera continues to threaten many African countries
over one million cases in 44 African countries resulted in an economic burden of US$130 million from cholera-related illness and its treatment.African governments must acknowledge that the burden of cholera is huge. In my opinion, governments in endemic areas don’t recognise cholera as a major issue until there’s a big outbreak, when it’s out of control. They treat it as a once off.
There must also be community engagement. For instance, widespread messaging that encourages hand washing, boiling water and other preventive measures. Community healthare key in getting these messages across and distributing supplies during an outbreak. There are various brands and variation of the oral cholera vaccine, and they are all easy to administer because they are taken orally. They have an effectiveness rate of60% to 80% but require a yearly booster. There’s not been a concerted vaccination campaign in many countries, however, because governments are not taking the prevention and control of the disease seriously.
Some countries are still in denial about outbreaks. This is partly due to fears about repercussions on trade and tourism. But in an interconnected world this attitude isn’t helpful.
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