EU boosts Malawi cholera fight

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has donated some 27 million Malawi Kwacha (about 310,000 US dollars) to help fight cholera in Malawi.
A statement from the EU Head of Delegation's office in Lilongwe, said the money channelled through UNICEF for the Cholera Preparedness and Control project, seeks to reduce cholera deaths in eight districts in the country's Central and Northern regions.

"The eight districts have been chosen based on the 2001 outbreak evaluation and vulnerability assessment for 2002," the statement said.

It said "the support comes at an opportune time as the wet season is commencing and with it, the number of malaria cases, diarrhoea and cholera might dramatically increase."

The statement said ECHO was also supporting the Paris-based medical NGO, Medicins Sans Frontier on a similar project with 28 million Malawi Kwacha.

"The ECHO support...will enable health centres to be better prepared, as well as effective and efficient in responding to an eventual cholera outbreak," it added.

Meanwhile, the Malawi national radio has reported an outbreak of cholera in Salima, with three deaths.