In early January, Malawi Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda announced that the opening of public schools in the country’s two major cities, Blantyre and Lilongwe, would be delayed, according to Reuters. The move was announced as part of an effort to combat a recent surge in cholera cases.
Since an outbreak in March of 2022, over 31,000 cases have been reported, with more than 1,023 deaths, according to CNN. The death toll, which numbered just under 600 in early January, has doubled within the last month, according to Health Minister Chiponda. Cholera, a disease spread by contaminated food or water that can cause acute diarrhea, is a seasonal problem in Malawi due to its rainy season from November to March. The average number of deaths is typically around 100 per year, according to Reuters.
However, the problem has been exacerbated by the surge in cholera worldwide. This surge has has drained the global stockpile of cholera vaccines managed by the World Health Organization (WHO). In December, a WHO official described the stock as “currently empty or extremely low,” according to Reuters.
On January 23rd, Chiponda said that “the last time [Malawi] had the worst case of cholera was in 2002,” with the current fatality rate surpassing the country’s previous largest cholera outbreak from 2001-2002, which killed more than 900 people, according to CNN.
A statement from the Health Ministry warned people to be careful when handling the bodies of cholera victims. “Some cultural rituals related to the death of cholera victims help to perpetuate the disease,” the statement began, before proceeding to warn against preparing food for funeral feasts after washing the bodies of cholera victims, according to CNN.
According to AP News, the WHO said that 31 countries reported cholera outbreaks since December, an increase of 50% over previous years.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “while we have had large cholera outbreaks before, we have not seen such a large number of simultaneous outbreaks,” according to the AP. Ghebreyesus continued by describing Malawi, along with Syria and Haiti, as the countries that had been most affected by the outbreaks.
The outbreak has been blamed on a combination of factors. One is the effects of climate change, as warmer temperatures increase the rains that make it easier for the bacteria that causes cholera to spread and multiply. Another is the lack of access to safe water and sanitation for a large portion of the population in the most affected regions, according to the AP.
Thus, while the United Nations has responded to the global cholera outbreak by distributing millions of vaccines – almost 3 million were sent to Malawi alone in November, according to the AP – there are clear production issues that are hindering distribution, and thus response, both nationally and globally.
Although the global Covid-19 pandemic may remain the global priority in terms of public health, global response to diseases like cholera must not fall by the wayside, given both their commonality and their ability to be treated. Cholera does not have to be deadly. While it kills up to 30% of those afflicted, that is only when left untreated, according to CNN. The global community, whenever able, has a responsibility to help eradicate this disease and others like it wherever possible. Access to clean water is a basic human right that continues to be denied to millions across the globe. Lack of access to clean water leads to disease and subsequently threatens stability, and thus peace, on a global scale. Global public health is one of the most important issues that face the world today, and outbreaks like those in Malawi must not be ignored by the global community because of their general origin in the Global South. Serious global response to disease should not start when outbreaks reach Europe or North America, they should begin when people are dying of treatable diseases anywhere in the world. The global community has a responsibility to respond to disease whenever and wherever possible.
