By Abraham Bisayi
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Deputy Minister of Health, Halima Daud has hailed Evidence Action Organization for improving access to clean water and helping the government in addressing the challenges of waterborne diseases in the southern region.
She was speaking on Wednesday during a courtesy call meeting with the Global CEO/President of Evidence Action Kanika Bahl from Washington DC, US at the ministry’s conference room in Lilongwe.
Evidence Action organization implemented its interventions in the Zomba district where Cholera was endemic due to the inland drainage of Lake Chilwa
This was also due to fishermen doing their business on the lake living in floating houses and along the lake shores.
Daud said the implementation of the dispenser for safe water program in Zomba demonstrated a significant reduction of diarrhea diseases including Cholera that was endemic in the area.
The Dowa South East Legislator commended the mutual relationship that the ministry has with the Evidence Action organization, in the treatment of water at water sources using chlorine dispensers, especially in the rural areas where there is no piped treated water.
“The government of Malawi through the Ministry of Health, promotes household water treatment as one way of making universal access to safe water supply to community members.
“Most people live in rural and sub-urban areas where water is collected from communal water points and is transported to homes through various means and vessels,” Daud said.
She further requested more support from the organization to scale up the program nationwide to reach more people significantly contribute to SDG6 and meet the country’s aspirations, Malawi Vision 2063.
However, Kanika Bahl said her organization started implementing the water project in 2013 in Zomba, in the expansion phase, 15,993 chlorine dispensers and 176 Inline chlorine devices were installed in the water points.
She said about 2.7 million people have accessed safe water representing 15% of the Malawi population in the scaled-up new seven districts including Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Mwanza, Neno, Balaka, Machinga and Mangochi
