Lilongwe, 27 March 2015 – The WHO country office in Malawi on 25 March convened a meeting between Malawi and Mozambique in the Mwanza district to discuss the cholera outbreak situation in bordering districts and provinces of the two countries among others. The meeting which was chaired by Dr Charles Mwansambo, Chief of Health Services in Malawi was organised to facilitate discussions and agreements on common approaches which the two countries can adopt to address the on-going cholera outbreak precipitated by the recent heavy floods.

Dr Nyarko, the WHO Representative to Malawi informed the delegates about the preparations being undertaken in Malawi for the Oral Cholera Vaccine campaign with the support from WHO, the International Vaccine Institute and other partners.

“The International Vaccine Institute is providing vaccines for 55 000 people while WHO is providing Malawi with vaccines for 105 000 people to be administered to in Nsanje district, the most affected district in Malawi. The first round of the immunization is planned from 30 March to 4 April while the second round will take place from 21 to 25 April 2015. A 'mop up campaign' is planned for 30 April to 1 May," said Dr Nyarko.

He went on to explain that basic water, sanitation and hygiene behaviours and practices are paramount and that the vaccine is only complementary to these basic principles of public health.

As of 25 March, the heads of delegation for the two countries Dr Charles Mwansambo and Maria Matsihne, the National Deputy Director of Public Health from Mozambique reported Malawi had 151 cholera cases and three deaths giving a case fatality rate of 1.8%, while Mozambique had 7 133 cases and 50 deaths giving a case fatality rate of 0.8%.

The meeting discussed various strategies and interventions that were already being implemented in both countries and agreed on a number of common strategies/interventions that need to be further implemented across their borders to accelerate the control of the outbreak.

These include the promotion of safe water supply and sanitation, improving case management and safe burial of cholera cases, and improving disease surveillance, among others. Among the delegates were other development partners from UNICEF and Medicins Sans Frontiers from Malawi. Out of the 28 participants at the meeting eight were from Mozambique.

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