A 2-year-old girl and two adults have died due to a typhoid outbreak in which more than 2000 cases have been reported.
The outbreak in Mufulira, a mining town on the Copperbelt Province in Zambia is thought to have been caused by contaminated vegetables, which were being watered using raw sewer water.
A technical team comprising of experts from Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company, Mufulira Municipal Council, the Ministry of Health and Mopani Copper Mines had been tasked by the Office of the Vice-President under the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to bring to an end the spread of typhoid in the area which has 3,200 residents.
During a stakeholders meeting in Mufulira, Domiciano Mulenga, the Permanent Secretary responsible for disaster management, said the technical team had a responsibility to improve the water reticulation and sanitation system in Mupambe.
Mulenga said all stakeholders were aware of the problems of water and sanitation services facing the people of Mupambe, which had led to the outbreak of the disease. He stressed that water providers face challenges in supplying quality water due to contamination as a result of dilapidated infrastructure. Vandalism, illegal connections and flooding of sewer networks, as well as the pollution of water sources by industrial activity such as mining and other waste, pose a danger to health.
He said there was need for a multifaceted approach involving all key stakeholders and all interventions should be put through an ‘emergency window’.
Mulenga said it was gratifying that Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company had donated money and 2,000 bottles of chlorine, which had already been distributed together with 40 bags of lime. They have also installed a bypass pipe from where the problem occurred.
Mopani Copper Mines had also procured an effluent pump and transformer at a cost of US$25,000 to be installed at Mupambe. This is one of many other donations the mining company had made to end typhoid in the township.
