Volunteers tackle cholera in Zambia
30 July 2010
Volunteers have
reduced the number of cholera cases in an urban compound in Zambia
through door-to-door visits and impromptu lessons about waterborne
disease, Oxfam reports.
A group of community health workers have been giving out
information at water points in Kanyama Compound in Lusaka, which
was the epicentre of a cholera outbreak earlier this year.
The unplanned compound has a high population coupled with poor
water and sanitation infrastructure, while many residents cannot
afford to buy clean water.
A cholera treatment centre set up by Medecins Sans Frontieres
reduced cases of cholera from 200 to 41 during the outbreak with
the help of community health workers in the region.
Volunteer Faith Moyo, 29, told Oxfam: "I wanted to help fight
this cholera. We educate people on how to prevent cholera and how
to stop it spreading."
She added that misinformation about cholera is rife in Kanyama
Compound, with many believing they can drink alcohol or chlorine to
kill the disease.
Some 98 per cent of cholera deaths occur in Southern Africa,
according to Oxfam.
The average life expectancy in Zambia is 38.
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