By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
ZAMBIA has informed the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) board meeting in Ethiopia that it has resolved to sponsor a resolution on cholera at the forthcoming World Health Organisation (WHO) Assembly in Geneva in order to garner global support in fighting the disease.
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said yesterday at the CDC board meeting that Zambia decided to sponsor a resolution on cholera at the forthcoming World Health Assembly in Geneva.
Dr Chilufya said the resolution has been crafted to draw global attention to the elimination of cholera and to stop people from dying from the disease.
This is according to a statement issued by First Secretary for Press and Tourism at the Zambian Embassy in Ethiopia In’gutu Mwanza.
Zambia proposed the resolution on cholera in January this year, so that it could be considered at the 71st World Health Assembly to be held in May this year in Geneva, Switzerland.
The proposal was at the WHO executive board session in Geneva, Switzerland.
Cholera affects at least 47 countries across the globe, with an estimated 2.9 million cases and 95,000 deaths worldwide every year.
Zambia is coming from dealing with a cholera outbreak in October last year, which claimed many lives but the disease is nearly halted.
And Dr Chilufya urged AU member States to invest in National Public Health Institutes to increase disease Surveillance and Intelligence.
He called for sustainable financing for National Public Health Institutes and CDCs.
The minister also called for stronger health systems saying this was the only sure way of guaranteeing health populations.
He commended the African CDC for the work it has done so far but urged them to guard against bureaucracies that occur when responding to emergencies in some African States.
Dr Chilufya said outbreaks and emergencies that occurred in different countries should be attended to swiftly by the CDC.