NENO CHOLERA UPDATE

Neno District
COUNCIL
24TH MAY 2023

ON THE END OF CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN NENO

Distinguished colleagues,members of PHEMC,DRRT , DCPC, RRTs and general Public.

Today marks exactly 390 days battling with cholera in Neno .On 29th April,2022 the district got
reports of cases suspected to be Cholera from Ngwenyama village in Luwani,with Support from Public
Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) and other health actors moved to quick action to control outbreak.

The cholera outbreak ongoing in other parts of the country was a wake up call ,that if we toy with it
,it will toy with us. Given the weakened health system resulting from long periods of fighting COVID19
and Typhoid,made it paramount for immediate and coordinated response to avoid pit falls experi-
enced by other districts with similar challenges.

With that strong resolve to limit mortality and morbidity ,this was achieved and we can safely say we
have succeeded. A total of 783 confirmed cases were recorded across the district with 10 deaths
reported.

We must say that we have succeeded in controlling the outbreak. This certainly was as a result of the
mult- sectoral strategy adopted and the very strong leadership from PHIM and implementing part-
ners to support the district in closing identified gaps in surveillance,risk communication,WASH and
case management among others.

The preparedness of the District Rapid Response Team(DRRT) and Health Centre Rapid Response
Teams (RRTs) to respond to cholera outbreak ,effective partner coordination,Swift activation of
PHEMC,DRRT and RRTs,efficient case management and surveillance ,Effective Risk communication
and Community engagement were the strong points that helped us to disrupt transmission and
reduced mortality and morbidity to about 1% .

Today,we are more than 2 weeks without any case reported and this signifies that we have come to
the end of this outbreak.

Our collaborative effort proved very useful in this instance and has shown that working together we
can achieve faster and better. Building partnerships across all sectors is the only sure way to work
now and in the future

The district will now be far prepared and equipped to prevent and respond even better in the event
of another outbreak. Now,we must begin to document and harness the lessons learnt, as a contribu-
tion to assurance of our collective future.

I want to thank all partners that supported the implementation of prevention and control strate-
gies,management of cases and providing support to our staff on the ground.
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We must also seize this as an opportunity to continue to educate and enlighten our people on the
strategies as to avert a next occurrence. The District will continue to monitor the situation on ground
and strengthen surveillance .We still ask that the partners ,government sectors and community struc-
tures to continue supporting the district in the quest to provide WASH services to maintain the status
acquired to day.

I must thank Neno PHEMC for the leadership in the response,PIH/APZU ,World Vision,WHO
,UNICEF,Malawi Redcross,United Purpose,Evidence Action for Support in WASH, Concern World Wide
,PIH/ APZU , WHO, Neno District Council in Case Management,PIH ,NICE ,PACHI ,BOHF and Neno FM
for support in Risk communication and Community Engagement,PIH, WHO and PHIM for Oral Cholera
Vaccination, Neno District Council in Surveillance, PIH, UNICEF and Neno District Council in Logistics
and operations .

We must also recognize the various roles by our local leaders( chiefs,faith based leaders and business
community).

Finally and Most importantly we Dedicate this victory to our Noble and hard working Health Workers
and Community Volunteers in Neno who worked tirelessly .

Neno District Council and the People of Neno cannot thank you enough.

By this,we Declare the Cholera outbreak Over.

Thank You all

Margaret Mikwamba
District Environmental Health Officer
( Cholera Incident Manager)

LIST OF PARTNERS THAT SUPPORTED CHOLERA OUTBREAK RESPONSE IN NENO

Surveillance Logistics and Operations Risk communication and

◦ PIH ◦ PIH Community Engangement
◦ Neno District Council ◦ Neno District Council ◦ PIH
◦ PHIM ◦ PHIM ◦ Neno FM
◦ WHO ◦ WHO ◦ NICE
◦ UNICEF ◦ BOHF
WASH ◦ WVI
◦ PIH Case management
◦ PIH ◦ Malawi Red Cross Society
◦ Malawi Red Cross Society ◦ Concern world wide
◦ World Vision International ◦ Neno District Council
◦ UNICEF ◦ PSI
◦ Evidence Action
◦ BOHF ◦ WHO
Oral Cholera Vaccination
◦ United Purpose ◦ PIH
Cholera Data Management ◦ PHIM
Coordination ◦ PIH ◦ WHO
◦ PIH ◦ PHIM
◦ Neno District Council ◦ Neno District Council
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