More than 1,500 people die of cholera in Malawi—United Nations
Malawi’s deadly cholera outbreak could worsen if - as expected - Tropical Cyclone Freddy triggers further heavy rainfall in the south of the country, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
“Malawi is really experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its recorded history - nothing less than that - and the country is also struggling to respond to an earlier outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 cases across the nation,” said Rudolf Schwenk, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Malawi Representative.
In an update to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Schwenk reported that since the outbreak was officially announced a year ago, cholera has spread to 29 districts across Malawi.
“It’s all over the country, affecting more than 50,000 people and over 1,500 deaths,” he said, via video link from Lilongwe. “Of these, more than 12,000 children have contracted cholera, and of these, unfortunately, 197 - almost 200 - have died.” (ILKHA)