Mozambique: Two community leaders killed following cholera misinformation – Lusa

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Mozambique: Two community leaders killed following cholera misinformation – Lusa

7:38 CAT | 20 Dec 2023

Map: Wikimedia Commons

People beat two community leaders accused of spreading cholera in the Chiúre district of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique to death, a police source told Lusa on Tuesday.

The attack took place on Monday after the leaders were linked to the death of a child who had cholera symptoms in a community in the Chiúre district, said Aniceto Magome, head of the Public Relations Department of the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) in Cabo Delgado.

A third person was “slightly injured while trying to help the community leaders and was taken to the Chiúre Rural Hospital”, said the spokesman, noting that some people involved in the case have been identified so that they can be held responsible.

Aniceto Magome also said that there are ongoing campaigns to raise awareness among communities about how cholera spreads and is prevented, to avoid more people being attacked and killed.

“We’ve had other cases here in the province. It’s a phenomenon that affects the southern part of Porto Delgado,” added the Mozambican police spokesman.

At least 16 people were arrested between May and November in Sofala province, in central Mozambique, for “misinformation” about cholera, announced Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda, noting that lies about the disease have resulted in lynchings and destruction.

Rumours about the origin of the disease “attack the physical integrity of those who are willing to help solve this problem, as well as causing damage to public and private infrastructure, such as health centres, police stations and community residences,” the Mozambican interior minister said in November.

Cholera is a disease that causes severe diarrhoea, which is treatable but can lead to death from dehydration if not tackled promptly.

The disease is largely caused by the ingestion of contaminated food and water due to a lack of sanitation networks.

In May, the World Health Organisation (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, pointing to Mozambique as one of the countries most at risk in October.

Mozambique is considered to be one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, a situation that exacerbates the lack of infrastructure and services to prevent the disease.

Source: Lusa