 has provided about K23 million contribution for the cholera outbreak response on Monday.){kind=link}
Zambia: The United Kingdom (UK) has provided about K23 million contribution for the cholera outbreak response on Monday.
British High Commissioner Nicholas Woolley said the UK is immediately providing additional financing through the Zambian Red Cross’s emergency appeal, which is providing key support to the Government of Zambia’s Cholera Response Plan.
High Commissioner Woolley also highlighted that the £670,000, which is about K23 million contribution, will help the response plan to scale up activities in the community as well as interrupt chains of transmission and set up oral rehydration points to provide early treatment.
“The K23 million UK funding will support the Zambian Red Cross in expanding its operations and working to break transmission chains that could threaten a wider outbreak in communities across Zambia,” he stated.
The British High Commissioner confirmed that the UK is providing a package of support that includes finance and technical assistance to help the Zambian authorities control the outbreak and reduce the risks to citizens’ health.
“On behalf of the UK, I would like to express our solidarity with the Zambian people at this difficult time with the current cholera outbreak,” he said.
In a press statement issued to media in Lusaka on Monday by the British High Commission Lusaka Communications Department, Woolley disclosed that in addition to financing, the UK is deploying technical assistance to work with the authorities to bring the outbreak under control.
He noted that the UK Emergency Medical Team arrived in Zambia earlier this month to provide capacity building and training, policy and guideline development, and direct clinical care support to patients and medical staff at cholera treatment centres.
He added that a UK Public Health Rapid Support Team has also arrived in Lusaka to offer further technical support which will help strengthen the effectiveness of the Zambian response as well as put in place preventative measures which will contribute to preparedness for future outbreaks.
He explained that both teams have been deployed at the request of the Zambian authorities and have extensive regional experience, including on Cholera outbreaks.
“Meanwhile, experienced UK teams are here to work in partnership with and under the leadership of their expert Zambian counterparts, both to help treat patients and to support the wider measures necessary to help bring this outbreak under control,” Woolley said.
Woolley stated that the UK’s Fleming Fund will also support Zambia’s cholera surveillance by providing equipment, supplies, and technical assistance to help track the outbreak and identify drug-resistant infections.
Woolley commended Zambia’s efforts so far, including the tireless efforts of its healthcare workers and its rapid rollout of the cholera vaccine.