WHO donates water treatment agent to councils nationwide

LUDOVICK KAZOKA

PERMANENT Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Eng. Mbogo Futakamba, signs a document to receive a chlorine powder consignment donated by the World Health Organisation during the handing over ceremony held in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Left is WHO representative, Dr Richard Banda. (Photo by a Correspondent)

THE World Health Organisation (WHO), a specialised agency of the United Nations concerned with international public health, has donated 50 tones of chlorine powder worth 246m/- for water treatment to 83 town councils in the country for a period of five months.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Engineer Mbogo Futakamba, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday the donation will facilitate the provision of clean water, saying the chemical will also contribute to control the cholera epidemic.

“The government has set a target that 85 per cent of people in rural areas and 90 per cent of people in urban areas get clean and safe water by 2020,” said the Permanent Secretary at a ceremony to hand over the chlorine consignment.

Mr Mbogo directed the town councils set to benefit from the chemical to use it properly so that they attain the goal of controlling cholera, pointing out that the government has formed a task force to control the disease.

According to the PS, the task force which includes officials from two ministries of Water and Irrigation and of the Health, Community Development, Elderly and Children, is tasked to raise awareness to members of the public on how to prevent the epidemic.

Speaking shortly after handing over the water treatment chemical, WHO Officer- in-Charge Tanzania, Dr Richard Banda, said the current cholera outbreak in the country has affected more than 22,000 and claimed 347 lives in the country since it started in August 2015. “

As, we know cholera transmission is associated with consumption of water or food contaminated with human feces,” he said.

Dr Banda said the longterm solution for cholera control therefore lies in economic development and universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, which he said is the key in preventing both epidemic and endemic cholera.

“This can be achieved through development of piped water systems with water treatment facilities and interventions at the household level as well as the construction of systems for sewage disposal and latrines,” he concluded.