Two-Month Emergency Cholera Response in Malawi Concludes

With support from MSD and Project HOPE, the Africa Public Health Network (APHN), working in close coordination with Malawi’s Ministry of Health, has successfully completed a two-month emergency cholera response in the Blantyre and Lilongwe districts.

The response was designed following the 2025 – 2026 rainy season in Malawi, which brought devastating flooding and accelerated the spread of the highly infectious waterborne disease, cholera, through contaminated water sources and collapsed sanitation systems. Rather than relying on isolated interventions, the response took a holistic approach, combining the distribution of critical water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies, community health education, and household-level WASH interventions to address both knowledge gaps and clean water access barriers to cholera prevention.

“The project established a strong foundation for continued cholera prevention, as it was carried out in close collaboration with government authorities, district health offices, traditional leaders, and community structures,” said Endale Tilahun, Malawi APHN Malawi Country Representative and Chief of Party. “By prioritizing community engagement, accountability, and local ownership, we saw real behavior change: communities reported improved understanding of cholera prevention, high acceptance of water treatment methods, and stronger uptake in hygiene practices.”

Over the course of two months, the response exceeded and met its targets across both districts through:

• Community Education: Reached 260% more individuals than planned with health education on the causes and transmission of cholera, safe WASH practices, and safe food handling and storage.
• Household WASH interventions: Provided 316 households (1,422 individuals) with pot-to-pot chlorination, a water disinfection technique, to ensure safe drinking water and sustained preventive practices at the household level.
• WASH Supply Distribution: Delivered 800 tapped water buckets and over 1300 pounds of chlorine across 16 outreach clinics, exceeding the original target of 10 clinics as teams adapted to the evolving outbreak.

This flooding and cholera response was implemented through the MSD-funded and Project HOPE-led Africa Regional Emergency Response Network, which brings together local and national NGOs across the continent to strengthen local capacity and enhance the speed, quality, and effectiveness of humanitarian response during crises.

Since 2023, Project HOPE has been strengthening the capacity of Malawi’s local health system to prevent new HIV infections and improve access to services for children, adolescents, and families through the Ana ndi Achinyamata Patsogolo Children and Youth First project (ANAPA).