Zambia: Challenges of Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Rural Communities.

By Alice Chisanga

Rural Communities often face unique challenges with disease emergencies due to limited healthcare infrastructure according to experts.

Environmental Health Practitioner, Binta Sariff has reviewed the need for systems and plans to be applied at rural community level for easy detection of outbreaks and implementation of effective measures.

Today, Minister of Education Darglas Siakalima has announced that schools will delay opening for three weeks to contain the outbreak of cholera.

The schools which where suppose to open on 8th January 2024 will now open on 29th January 2024 and close on 26th April.

The change will affect the holiday time for the second term as pupils wills only close for a week.

Since the disease outbreak in October, the country has lost 128 lives with 455 still admitted in Hospital as of 3rd January 2024.

Meanwhile Private School owners in Rural areas have expressed concern in the rapid response to the cholera outbreak which has affected the School calendar.

Director for North View Academy Clement Chishimba has observed that many Schools in Rural Communities have sanitation points and feels government would have rather delayed selected schools unlike delaying schools across the country.

Mr. Chishimba further observed that pupils would be safer in Schools where they are regulated compared to communities where they may be playing in dirty waters.

But in response to the scaling cases of Cholera, Minister of Health Silvia Masebo today led a team in Lusaka to carry out sensitization about the disease outbreak and encourage them to observe cleanliness.