Mario de Queiroz
LISBON, May 4 2006 (IPS) – Health authorities have been unable to contain the cholera outbreak sweeping through Angola, a country considered to have some of the greatest potential for wealth and economic growth in Africa.
The epidemic is currently claiming an average of 25 lives a day. A total of 1,034 deaths have been recorded since mid-February. Many of these are in Luanda, the capital of this former Portuguese colony in southwestern Africa.
Figures tallied by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday in Luanda and released Wednesday in Lisbon show that, to date, 25,266 cholera cases have been reported in the 10 provinces (of a total of 18) hit by the epidemic, which has become particularly virulent in the province of Luanda, where 12,440 cases have resulted in 179 deaths.
The first cholera case emerged on Feb. 13 in the Boavista neighbourhood, one of the most squalid areas of the Ingombotas municipality, located close to the port of Luanda. In a matter of days, the disease began to spread to other poor neighbourhoods in the capital.
Just weeks after breaking out in Luanda, the epidemic appeared in the provinces of Benguela, Bengo and Cuanza do Norte, and has now spread to 10 provinces in this vast country of 1.25 million square kilometres and a population of 14.9 million.
Luanda is severely overcrowded. While in the mid-20th century it had a capacity for 700,000 people, it is now home to close to five million people, most of whom lack even the most basic sanitation services, with only sewage streams and rivers full of garbage and excrement to fulfil their needs.
These environmental conditions create an ideal breeding ground for cholera, a highly contagious waterborne disease. Its main symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea, which can cause severe dehydration and often death.
WHO statistics show that between 25 and 50 percent of cholera cases are fatal if not treated properly, but that adequate medical care can reduce the mortality rate to between one and two percent.
At this time, the epidemic s mortality rate in Angola is 5.1 percent exactly paralleling that of the African continent, which is the highest average rate of any region in the world.
On Apr. 27, the European Commission the European Union executive body approved a contribution of 1.5 million Euros (nearly 1.9 million dollars) in emergency aid to respond to the crisis, sounding the alert about the alarming and extremely rapid spread of the epidemic in Angola.
The EU funds were channelled through Doctors of the World, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières , the U.N. Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the WHO.
As if the deadly cholera situation were not enough, Portuguese correspondents stationed in Luanda reported Wednesday that Angola s eastern provinces have been cut off from the rest of the country since Monday, because the only bridge crossing the Samba River collapsed as a result of the major flooding reported in the Malange province.
Dozens of trucks with goods bound for the provinces of Moxico and Lundas are stuck at the site of the collapsed bridge awaiting a solution, which experts estimate will take up to a month if authorities act quickly.
At stake is the survival of residents in eastern Angola, who are dependent on basic supplies transported from Luanda, including food and fuel. The shortages could also affect the diamond industry.
