Health official warns of possible cholera outbreak in Juba

The poor waste management in Juba could set off cholera outbreak amid the ongoing rainy season, according to a senior health official.

Janet Michael, Acting Director General for Primary Healthcare said that drinking water could easily become contaminated with decomposing garbage and corpses, thus increasing the risk of cholera outbreak. 

“Malaria will also be increasing and special diarrhea diseases are going to come up including cholera because the water is polluted,” Michael told journalists after adjourning the second round of the COVID-19 vaccination in Juba on Monday.

“I want to say it is very dangerous because as the rain begins, we are going to have waterborne diseases and airborne diseases such as Pneumonia and cough,” she said.

Michael said they have observed with great concern illegal dumping of garbage along roadsides in Juba which can cause additional sanitary problems.

She urged residents to properly dispose off garbage through their regular collection service.

“Here we have a habit, if you are driving on the road you find people opening their vehicles and throwing bottles on the road, this is a very bad culture,” Michael said.

Cholera is usually caught by eating or drinking contaminated food and water.

Several residents of Juba have complained about the heaps of uncollected garbage in their neighborhoods and public places.

Last year, Juba City Council contracted East Africa Go Green Company to collect garbage in the town but the city is still choking on garbage.