(ORDO NEWS) — More than 1,500 people have died of cholera in Malawi since March 2022, including 197 children.
“Since the official announcement of the outbreak just over a year ago, cholera has spread to all 29 districts of the country.
As of March 2, more than 50,000 people fell ill and more than 1,500 died,” he said. More than 12,000 children were among the sick, and in 197 cases the disease ended in death.
Malawi is experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, a UNICEF spokesman said, and this is “an incredibly difficult time for children”.
To date, an estimated 4.8 million young Malawians, or one in two children, are in need of humanitarian assistance, Schwenk continued.
More than 62,000 children are expected to be severely malnourished in the country by the end of March, according to forecasts.
“Because a severely malnourished child is 11 times more likely to die from cholera, an outbreak of the disease could mean a death sentence for thousands of children in Malawi,” a spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund said.
UNICEF called on the global community to allocate $52.4 million to help those in need in Malawi.
Cholera is a particularly dangerous infectious disease caused by vibrio cholerae. It occurs when a pathogen enters the body with contaminated food or water.
The current cholera outbreak began in Malawi in March 2022. In October, the Malawian government asked the United Nations to help fight the disease and provide additional batches of cholera vaccine.
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