Cholera – lessons learned as epedemic winds down “Cholera
thrives on disorganization,” said Christophe Valingot, water,
sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) specialist with ECHO. “Cholera
spreads very rapidly – it can go from 30 cases to several
hundred cases per week in a very short period. When there is
little to no preparation, we’ve lost the chance to avoid all
those infections.” But preparation is hardly a motivator for
governments and donors. “We had a very difficult time justifying
funds for this preparation work in Guinea,” Valingot said. Data
from the past decade in West Africa show that a country can go
several years with few to no cases of cholera then be hit with
thousands of cases. “Donors, NGOs, and governments go all-out
during a serious epidemic then it’s as if that all disappears
completely with a couple of calmer periods,” Valingot said.
“What this means in the end is meagre progress against cholera.”
Health workers said UNICEF’s strategy proved effective in Guinea
this year and ECHO and UNICEF ar