08 Aug 2022

Ministry of Health has urged public members to rush to the nearest health facilities, should they experience any diarrhoeal symptoms.

In an interview with BOPA yesterday, the ministry’s spokesperson, Dr Christopher Nyanga said Botswana was currently experiencing a rise in diarrhoeal cases among children aged under five years, with 329 cases and 12 deaths recorded since July 3.

He, therefore, urged parents and caregivers to seek medical attention as soon as mild symptoms such as vomiting and dehydration were experienced, to avoid mortality, warning against waiting for severe diarrhea to present. 

Dr Nyanga said the ministry was closely monitoring the situation, with all health facilities on high alert to administer necessary treatment.

He called on the nation to maintain high hygiene standards such as keeping the environment clean and regularly washing hands with soap and clean water.

“Preventive measures are key and people should focus on hygiene,” he said, adding that poor environmental conditions and nutritional status made children more susceptible to diarrhoea.

Dr Nyanga said the most affected District Health Management Teams were Ngami, Okavango, Ghanzi and Francistown, with greater Gaborone still under control, cautioning however, that, being less affected did not meant that residents should ease the way they were taking care of their children.

He further said rising temperatures could be a contributing factor to the outbreak as food easily went bad during hot weather.

He said the ministry had adopted some interventions such as strengthening surveillance for early detection of diarrhoeal cases; strengthening clinical management, as well as conducting mortality audits.

Dr Nyanga clarified that although the ministry reported all diarrhea-related deaths, follow up investigations were carried out to ascertain the real cause of deaths, which meant that some deaths that were initially reported as diarrhoeal, were eventually found to be due to other causes.

Furthermore, he said the ministry was working on strengthening community mobilisation and public education to increase awareness and sensitisation on diarrhoea and prevention measures; monitoring the quality of food and water, including ensuring availability, as well as access to essential medical supplies relevant to diarrhoea outbreaks.  ends