An Edinburgh business leader has urged generous city professionals to donate what they can towards an urgent aid effort to combat the worst-ever outbreak of cholera in an African country with strong Scottish links.
Kate Bell, president of Edinburgh Businesswomen’s Club, has made a donation to a campaign fronted by EMMS International, Scotland’s international healthcare charity, to tackle at source the worst cholera outbreak on record in Malawi. With over 30,000 confirmed cases and 24 people from one village dying in just one day, the surge in cases has prompted a call for urgent containment measures. EMMS has so far raised £27,000 towards a £160,000 target that will ensure sanitation and safe water supply to three health centres in the country.
Malawi is currently experiencing its most deadly outbreak of cholera. Since its outbreak in March 2022, the disease has spread to all 29 districts with over 1300 reported deaths and 40,000 cases. EMMS International, founded in Edinburgh in 1841, has launched an appeal to reach a target of £160,000 to help improve water sanitation and medical care.
Ms Bell, a regular donor to EMMS who has helped raise funds through the EBC, said: “I chose to support EMMS International because of all the good work they do. The people in Malawi rely on international aid in these situations. EMMS International helps educate, they provide resources and healthcare that allow young women to thrive.
“I was taken aback by the lack of coverage in the media on this issue, on a personal and professional level I connect with the work EMMS International does. If you don’t know, I would urge everyone to have a look at the work that is being done by EMMS at the minute. If we can act as a conduit of information, to help spread awareness, that is enough.”
The charity, based in Edinburgh for over 180 years, has been working globally since 1841 to improve health and healthcare in some of the world’s poorest communities. Its work in Malawi has been vital to the development of healthcare services and infrastructure and its most recent achievements have helped to secure sustainable solutions which tackle the challenges at source through healthcare education, sustainable energy systems and sustainable water and hygiene infrastructure within hospitals and healthcare settings. EMMS International has embarked on a mission to supply a further 14 rural health centres with safe water and sanitation.
Of the 20 rural health centres needs-assessed by EMMS International, eight per cent have no access to water at all, 76 per cent of water is not tested for quality and at 23 per cent of facilities patients cannot access water to wash or drink.
Cathy Ratcliff, CEO and Director of International Programmes said, “It’s terrible news that in this day and age, Malawi is enduring its worst cholera outbreak ever recorded. We appreciate any donations towards this aid effort and are thankful to Kate Bell and Edinburgh Businesswomen’s Club for their support.
“The rainy season in Malawi is adding to the urgency for action by speeding the spread of the disease, displacing people and making it more difficult to access safe healthcare services. With the risk of more heavy rains and flooding, it is essential that we act quickly to stop the spread of this deadly disease in healthcare settings. EMMS International has a long history of working with our partners in Malawi, having introduced palliative care to over 30 health facilities in recent years, including at least one in each of Malawi’s 28 districts, installing solar power in healthcare facilities, helping make our main partner hospital more financially sustainable, and training vulnerable women and girls to be tomorrow’s health professionals.”
EMMS International urgently need to raise £160,000 to install clean running water and sanitation at the remaining 14 rural health centres and to improve the water supply and sanitation at Mulanje Mission Hospital. The lack of clean water is the single biggest reason that cholera kills.
Cholera is a preventable and treatable disease. Malawi’s Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, has appealed to the public to adhere to preventative and containment measures, such as the use of safe water, frequent hand washing with soap and food hygiene. She also calls on the global community to help quickly to control the outbreak and save lives.
To learn more, and to donate, visit emms.org/cholera
Case study: Mwera village borehole installed to control cholera
Malawi is currently experiencing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in two decades. The first case was reported in March 2022, in Machinga district, in the southern region of Malawi. Cases keep rising and spreading country-wide. Currently cumulative confirmed cases are 30,600 and 1,002 deaths.
Mwera village, with a population of around one thousand, was one of the first to be struck with the disease. Staff of Mulanje Mission Hospital, Mulanje District Hospital and the Water Department went to the village to assess water needs after reports that the village did not have clean water. Their assessment showed that the villagers were drawing water from two unprotected wells, and the village did not have enough latrines.
EMMS International and Mulanje Mission Hospital responded to this need in November, 2022, drilling a borehole in the village to serve some of the most affected households. The impact of this clean water is tangible, according to Mr. Gracious, a Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) in the village. He says that before the borehole, they had 4 cholera cases, and his case investigation showed that all of them were drawing water from the dirty wells. After clean water was installed, the village had one case which health workers believe was contracted in Mozambique, when he went to visit relatives. (Mozambique is just across the river from the village.) Now the village has no cases. Clean water clearly reduces cases, as cholera cases in Malawi are increasing every day, but in this village they have drastically reduced and even been eliminated.