LILONGWE, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has pledged to reinforce support to Malawi's Ministry of Health to fight a cholera outbreak which has claimed over 250 lives since the first case was recorded in March.
The international medical humanitarian organization said in a statement Tuesday that it has set up a 10-bed Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU) at Cape Maclear, one of the country's tourist attraction areas located on the shores of Lake Malawi in Mangochi district. The Unit has all the required facilities such as latrines, bathrooms, handwashing stations, and waste disposal zones, according to the statement.
The MSF has also been supporting another health facility in the district by setting up a CTU with 3 admission wards and 50 beds, including bathing and latrine facilities, water pumps, laundry area, morgue, and waste disposal facilities.
"The hospital also received allowances to increase the staffing in the facility," said the statement, adding that after one week of activity, 324 patients have been admitted and provided with medical care.
MSF is also carrying out health promotion activities in the communities, with over 795 households (approximately 3,975 people) in three neighboring villages having already been reached with health and hygiene promotion messages, according to the statement.
As of Tuesday, a total of 8,374 cases of cholera had been recorded in Malawi with 252 deaths, according to the health minister's daily update on the outbreak. The outbreak has been reported in all the districts across the country with the lakeshore districts of Nkhata Bay, Mangochi, Nkhotakota, Rumphi, Salima and Karonga recording more cases than the rest.
With funds from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization, Malawi recently received 2.9 million doses of Oral Cholera Vaccine from the Global Emergency Stockpile. The Ministry of Health, with support from UNICEF, will soon roll out the vaccine campaign.
