LUSAKA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The Zambia government said on Thursday that the country was still at risk of another cholera outbreak, despite the recent victory over the waterborne disease.
Cholera, which broke out from August last year, claimed 114 lives. Last month, the government announced that it had contained the disease.
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said the country still remains at risk of cholera outbreaks as long as access to clean and safe drinking water remains a challenge.
In a ministerial statement delivered in parliament, the Zambian minister said poor sanitation as well as inadequate solid waste management were some of the issues that needed to be tackled in order for the country to be safe from the threats of cholera outbreaks.
"Although the most recent battle against cholera has been won, the war is far from over. In view of the high economic costs, both direct and indirect, a permanent end to the alarming threats of cholera outbreak is of utmost importance," he said.
The government, he said, was committed to ensuring that cholera outbreaks become a thing of the past, adding that the government was working on medium to long term projects for the improvement of water and sanitation.