Health Minister Commends Governments Response To Public Health Emergencies

Minister of Health, Sylvia T. Masebo, has praised the government for its ample response to public health emergencies within Zambia in the last few days.

The statement came during a press briefing held by the Ministry of Health earlier this week. The comments were with regard to the government’s handling of cholera, polio, bilharzia, and covid-19 within the country.

Ms. Masebo said that a bilharzia outbreak in Kapululira, Chirundu had been resolved by the Ministry. She stated that the outbreak had affected 150 schoolchildren. The outbreak was managed through treatment for those experiencing symptoms, and preventative treatment for those who had not.

She stated, “I am pleased to report that the Bilharzia outbreak in Kapululira, Chirundu that was reported on 7th April 2022, has resolved.”

With regard to polio, the Minister confirmed that 1,477,662 children between the ages of 0 and 5 years old had been rapidly vaccinated after an outbreak was reported in neighbouring Malawi.

Further, she stated that the Ministry was preparing a second round of polio vaccinations with a national campaign targeting 116 districts, around 4 million children under five years old.

Ms Masebo encouraged families with children under five to get their children vaccinated stating, “I urge all Zambian families with children under 5 to cooperate and make it easy for our teams when they come to offer the polio vaccinations. Remember that polio is a severely debilitating disease and is not curable.”

With regard to cholera, she stated that there had been no confirmed cases within the last 24 hours and cases that had appeared prior to this had received the necessary treatment. With regard to preventive treatment over 9,000 people had received vaccinations in Lusaka and Chilanga.

The news comes after the Zambian government celebrated World Health Day on the 7th  of April. The rapid response to these outbreaks represents another step forward in the New Dawn government’s commitment to the delivery of effective healthcare to communities.

Photo: Lusaka Times