Angolan Foreign Minister Tete Antonio on Monday called on member countries to coordinate efforts to prevent and control the spread of cholera during an extraordinary session of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Paralel.Az reports citing Xinhua.

In his virtual address, Antonio mentioned that the recent cholera outbreak in several SADC member countries since the start of the rainy season poses an obstacle to the integration and development agenda.

He said in the already interconnected context of the SADC, the movement of people, goods, and services across borders creates an environment conducive to the easy spread of cholera, affecting not just one country but the entire SADC region.

"This scenario calls for a coordinated regional response to meet this challenge, as no country can fight alone a disease like cholera, which does not respect borders," he said.

According to the local media Angola Press Agency, as of Sunday, five SADC countries -- Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) -- had reported cholera cases.

Although Angola has not yet officially confirmed any cases of cholera, Angolan health authorities have raised the alert level due to the large number of cases reported in neighboring Zambia and the DRC.

The SADC is an intergovernmental organization comprising 16 countries in southern Africa. Angola took over the rotating presidency in August last year for the 2023-2024 term.