Mozambique: Cholera misinformation leads to local leaders’ homes vandalisation

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Mozambique: Cholera misinformation leads to local leaders’ homes vandalisation

4:02 CAT | 20 Mar 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Rádio Moçambique]

Mozambique’s police have arrested two people suspected of vandalising the homes of local authorities who they accuse of spreading cholera in the Angoche district of Nampula province, in northern Mozambique, a police source said on Tuesday.

“They vandalised the house of the first secretary of the circle and the secretary of the neighbourhood allegedly because they were distributing medication to spread this disease,” Rosa Chaúque, spokesperson for the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Nampula, told a conference press.

Chaúque condemned the action of members of the public who invade the homes of community leaders and attack them, calling for measures to be taken to prevent the disease.

At least 23 people died and another 30 were injured during a wave of cholera disinformation in Mozambique, according to data released in January by PRM General Commander, Bernardino Rafael.

In addition to the dead and injured, 91 mainly government and local authority buildings were vandalised.

Community leaders and health technicians have also been killed or injured by members of the public following allegations of spreading the disease in communities.

Between May and November, at least 16 people were detained in the province of Sofala, in central Mozambique, for spreading erroneous information about cholera, authorities said.

The current cholera outbreak has already caused at least 30 deaths in Mozambique since October, 12 of them in Nampula.

According to the latest bulletin on the progression of the disease, prepared by the National Directorate of Public Health and with data up to March 8, a total of 13,397 cases of cholera had been recorded in the country since October 1.

Nampula province is worst affected, with a total of 4,296 cases and 12 deaths, followed by Tete with 2,535 cases and nine deaths, and where the prevalence of the disease rose to 0. 4% in the last few days.

Cholera is a treatable disease that causes severe diarrhoea and can cause death from dehydration if not promptly treated. The disease is caused, in large part, by the ingestion of contaminated food and water due to inadequate sanitation.

In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the world will have a shortage of cholera vaccines by 2025 and that one billion people in 43 countries could be infected with the disease, in October indicating Mozambique as one of the countries at greatest risk.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change, a situation that compromises infrastructure and services limiting the spread of the disease.

Source: Lusa