East African health systems are facing tough times as the region continues to take hits from extreme weather, amid a development space struggling to compete for funds with other crisis-troubled parts of the world.
The recent floods in East Africa fuelled water-borne diseases such as cholera with vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya on the rise, said Dr. Martin Muchangi, the director for population health and environment at the African Medical and Research Foundation, or AMREF.
“A disease like cholera is so easy to manage in situations where you have sanitary provisions. But now what we see is in situations where communities had access to safe water and sanitation, floods have taken them away. Mosquitoes are now breeding for a longer time than expected where there were floods,” he said in an interview with Devex.
About the author
David Njagi
David Njagi is a Kenya-based Devex Contributing Reporter with over 12 years’ experience in the field of journalism. He graduated from the Technical University of Kenya with a diploma in journalism and public relations. He has reported for local and international media outlets, such as the BBC Future Planet, Reuters AlertNet, allAfrica.com, Inter Press Service, Science and Development Network, Mongabay Reporting Network, and Women’s Media Center.
