By NORMA SIAME –
VILLAGE Water Zambia through support from Oxfam has provided liquid and granular chlorine to the Lusaka District health office for distribution in cholera-prone townships around Lusaka.
Lusaka district medical officer Namani Monze who was on hand to receive the items from the non-governmental organisation said environmental health technicians would be deployed to target areas like George and Kanyama townships.
Village Water Zambia’s Elisha Ng’onomo said the organisation had already done a lot of work in rural areas through advocacy on the importance of using clean and safe water.
Mr Ng’onomo said it was important that since cholera usually broke out in the rainy season, it was imperative that chlorine was distributed to household that relied on water from especially shallow wells.
Among other things donated were hand wash soap and posters that will be distributed around communities on the various interventions they can use to avoid contracting water borne diseases.
Dr Monze said environmental health technicians were employing the use of mobile laboratories to test the water quality in communities that utilise shallow wells.
