Unsafe water fuels cholera outbreak

The death of a three- year-old boy at Chileka Health Centre in January 2026 cast a harsh spotlight on Blantyre’s growing cholera crisis. “It was a painful reminder of how quickly the disease can claim lives, especially among young children,” says Blantyre district director of health services, Dr Gift Kawalazira At the health centre near Chileka International Airport, senior health surveillance assistant (HSA) Stella Khumbanyiwa reports that the surrounding communities have recorded 27 cholera cases, including four confirmed infections. Three of the cases were in children under five.

The boy who died came from Suya in Chirimba, an area where many households rely on unsafe water sources. Khumbanyiwa says the outbreak is fuelled by persistent use of contaminated streams, despite the availability of boreholes fitted with chlorine dispensers. “People avoid the boreholes because of congestion and some believe borehole water does not wash clothes well,” she explains.

“This is why traditional authorities Kuntaja and Machinjiri have become hotspots.” In Chilomoni’s Mulunguzi area, one of the the hardest hit zones, fear has begun to shift behaviour. Five-year-old Dominic Chiputula received his oral cholera vaccine with his mother’s consent after a neighbour’s death jolted the community into action. Senior HSA Thandiwe Chisi, who oversees the area, says the recent fatality prompted a surge in vaccine uptake.

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“We ran the oral cholera vaccination campaign from 21 to 25 January,” Chisi says. “On the first day alone, we reached 63 percent of our target. We were vaccinating everyone aged one and above through door-to-door visits and community gatherings.

Traditional leaders and ward councillors have been instrumental in dispelling myths. For many families, however, the root problem remains low access to clean water. In Sosola, Chilomoni, Alinafe Khamula says her neighbour’s entire family was hospitalised with suspected cholera. The experience influenced her to change her water source and start using the chlorine provided by HSAs.

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