In the past 15 days, Nampula province, in northern Mozambique, has recorded a worrying increase of 250 cholera cases, health authorities said today. This increase has raised the cumulative number of infections in this region to 3,186 people since the start of the outbreak, including three additional deaths.
Despite this increase, Mozambique's Deputy Minister of Health, Ilesh Jani, assured that the epidemic in Nampula is under control. Multisectoral teams are in action in the city of Nampula, the provincial capital, working hard to prevent new outbreaks.
The cholera outbreak in Mozambique remains a cause for attention, with a cumulative total of 33,862 cases since 14 September 2022. However, health authorities guarantee that most districts are already free of the outbreak. The national case fatality rate of the disease is 0.4%, with 23 people still hospitalised in various health facilities.
Cholera outbreaks were recently declared in two more districts, Mocímboa da Praia and Mueda, in Cabo Delgado province. In Cabo Delgado, 1,238 cases have been recorded, with three deaths, since September last year.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, praised the efforts of the Mozambican government and President Filipe Nyusi in combating the cholera epidemic, which was worsened by the impact of Cyclone Freddy.
Mozambique, one of the countries most affected by climate change in the world, faces challenges in the resilience of infrastructure and disease prevention services. Cholera, which causes severe diarrhoea, is treatable but can be fatal if not promptly tackled.
The country also faces the challenge of a lack of sanitation networks, which leads to contamination of food and water. In May, the WHO warned of a shortage of cholera vaccines until 2025, with around a billion people in 43 countries potentially at risk of infection.
