Luanda, Angola – The Angolan government will add to measures to combat malaria, which this year has killed at least 1,089 people, and cholera, which has killed 12 people, according to an emergency plan released on Tuesday.
The plan to combat these diseases was analszed on Monday in Benguela province at a meeting of the Local Governance Council, led by Angolan President João Lourenço, and includes both specific measures and financial resources.
The plan also provides for a multisectoral approach and testing and treatment for malaria and suspected cases of cholera.
Angola has been facing a cholera outbreak since December 2017, restricted to northern UÃge province, which recorded 640 cases, 12 of which resulted in deaths until Tuesday, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
The Angolan health authorities consider the cholera epidemic, which is affecting three neighbourhoods in the northern province of UÃge, to be controlled due to ongoing campaigns to raise awareness of prevention measures.
As part of the campaign, 2,870 homes were visited, with 2,313 latrines, of which 1,106 (47.8%) were in good condition, as well as visits to schools and markets to raise awareness, attended by 1,530 people.
According to a daily report on the epidemiological situation, to which Lusa had access on Tuesday, seven houses were disinfected in four neighbourhoods of the city of UÃge, 25 cacimbas (traditional water reservoirs) were visited and 41,516 litres of water were treated in the homes, as well as 20,000 litres of water being distributed by tankers.
With regard to malaria, 307,987 cases have been recorded since the beginning of this year until Tuesday last week, totalling 1,089 deaths, with Luanda being the province with the highest number of cases (75,225), followed by Benguela (43,751) and Bié (31,146) .
In the last 24 hours, the sanitary authorities carried out vector control actions, including air spraying, household spraying (1,517 in Huambo province, 93 in Benguela and 20 in Luanda), pesticide for larval control was placed in a total of 2,147 breeding sites in the provinces of Luanda (1,552), Huambo (534), Benguela (46), Lunda Norte (14) and Bengo (1).
These actions also included the distribution of 243,067 treated mosquito nets.
