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Mozambique |
HEALTH
The United Nations estimates that 1.2 billion people worldwide lack access
to safe water;
a further 2.5 billion are without proper sanitation
One day in early March, Joao Pedro (10) went out to play with his friends as usual, but when he suddenly came back at 09.00 hrs. Marta Pedro, his mother, thought her son could be hungry and was looking for some food in the kitchen before rejoining his friends. She became concerned when her son did not come out after thirty minutes and she went inside to investigate.
Later on she said: «When I went inside, I was shocked to see him lying on the floor groaning in pain as he pressed his hands against his stomach. I did not know what to do at first, as he was not responding to my questions when I asked him what was wrong».
Neighbours helped Marta carry the boy to the local clinic, where they were shocked to learn that Joao had contracted cholera, a water-borne disease that can kill in hours if immediate treatment is not sought. The nurses at the clinic did their best for the boy by providing appropriate medication, and after two days he was out of danger and once again able to join his friends in the street outside the family home in the high density suburb of Luis Cabral. A nurse at the clinic told Marta that Joao may have contracted cholera because of dirty water spilled on the street by residents after washing their clothes or performing other chores. It could be that Joao had drunk some of this water.
Joao is among thousands of children and adults who have contracted water-borne diseases in the capital. He’s lucky not to have died.
It’s against this background that the Ministry of Health has faced the task of providing much needed information to fight off cholera, which has already claimed a number of victims.
From August 2001 to March 2002, cholera affected nine of the country’s eleven provinces including the capital, Maputo. 383 people have died out of the 31,785 reported cases, according to Ministry of Health statistics. Poor water and sanitation facilities in both urban and rural areas have been blamed for the recurrence of the disease.
Deputy Health Minister, Aida Libombo, recently told Parliament that proper information on preventing the disease was lacking and her ministry is intensifying efforts to access information. Her report indicated the following: Mozambique’s central province of Zambezia recorded the highest figure of 8,192 reported cases and of these, 132 people died; 7,975 people fell sick with cholera in the northern province of Nampula, and of these, 81 died. In the capital, Maputo, some 205 cases were reported with one person dead; in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, there were 654 cases recorded, and of these, two people died. Ever since the early 1970s, medical personnel have been extremely worried by the prevalence of cholera in Mozambique.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines cholera as a diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. A person can become infected by drinking water or eating food contaminated by the bacterium.
WHO says that cholera is now to be found in many countries. New outbreaks can occur sporadically in countries where water supplies, sanitation, food safety and hygiene are inadequate. The failure of Mozambique’s central government and local municipalities to provide clean water and better sanitation facilities to both rural and urban populations, will continue to provide loopholes in which the disease can hibernate.
World Water Day
On 22 March, Mozambique joined other nations in celebrating World Water Day. Government officials and NGO‘s delivered speeches on the importance of the day. But for Maputo’s residents, continually occupied with trying to find clean water for domestic use, it was just another day.
Carlos dos Santo (20), lives in Maputo. He says: «Every time there’s a World Water Day, officials talk at length on the need of providing us with clean water, but once the Day’s over, then the need is quickly forgotten». He said if the water problem in the city is not immediately solved, there will be danger of an increase in the outbreak of disease. He complains: «In this city, we are supposed to have better water supplies than elsewhere, but what we get is just the opposite. You open a tap and you find the water is already dirty before you even use it».
Every day, women and girls wake up as early as 0400 hrs to join queues in a search for water. They have to get a move on as water supplies are cut off at 08.00 hrs and not re-opened until the next day. An official from City Hall said the cuts in water supply are caused by insufficient water being pumped into the city tanks. He said, however, that the problem is being rectified as funds have been sought to revamp the pumping facilities.
Lack of proper sanitation
Water problems in the capital are exacerbated by the absence of a proper drainage system to carry away used water, and residents in some parts of the high density suburbs freely dispose of dirty water on the streets, thus putting childrens’ health at risk when they play in the streets.
In a joint message to mark World Water Day two British charities, Water Aid and Tearfund, said that patients suffering from water-borne diseases occupy half the beds in the world’s hospitals. The two charities note: «Adequate sanitation alone, will not improve the situation. People need to be educated about hygiene. A new latrine will not reduce diarrhoea if people are not using the latrine. Latrines are not properly maintained and cleaned».
The fact is, the simple act of washing ones hands with soap, ash or mud before eating or cooking, will reduce diarrhoea and death from disease, by a third.
Cholera will continue to be a problem in countries such as Mozambique, if governments fail to take concerted action to alleviate the situation regarding the provision of clean water for cooking, washing and drinking. Also to ensure that suitable sanitation infrastructures are made available. Only then will children such as Joao be able to play safely with his friends on the streets.
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PeaceLink 2002 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement