5 December 2008
Zimbabwe is now facing its worst cholera outbreak in over a decade, with the number of suspected cases of cholera in Zimbabwe in recent months having climbed to nearly 14,000, including 589 deaths reported, the United Nations announced today.
The bulk of cases have been reported in Harare, the capital of the Southern African nation, and the outbreak is a national one, with nine out of 10 provinces and two-thirds of regions affected.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today cautioned that UN updates of the number of cases were based on reports to medical centres around Zimbabwe, and therefore not portraying the full picture.
The needs stemming from the cholera outbreak has pushed the Consolidated Appeal for Zimbabwe for 2009 to $550 million, and the agency also warned of a shortage of fuel supplies exacerbating the problem.
While it understands the impact of the outbreak in Harare and the two other hardest-hit cities, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that did not have as clear a view of the situation in the countryside.
Cases have surged since late last month, the agency said, adding that it is airlifting emergency supplies from Dubai and mobilizing additional medicines from South Africa.
For its part, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) today said that outbreak was becoming increasingly difficult to control, with Harare suffering from a water shortage.
It said is has made a one-month supply of chemicals to treat water available and is distributing 360,000 litres of drinking water daily.
Yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed in a telephone conversation with South African President Kgalama Motlanthe that the UN and its relief partners must respond quickly to address the humanitarian needs of Zimbabweans and prevent the cholera epidemic from spreading.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 UN News Service. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
"And of course, this UN supports and endorses the rape and killings of innocent kids and their mothers by the thousands in Iraq." comments like that just how much credibility you have, and what an idiot you are.
This post was deleted because it contravenes AllAfrica's commenting guidelines.
Please show me one quote or shred of evidence that proves your assertion that the "UN supports and endorses the rape and killings of innocent kids and their mothers by the thousands in Iraq"
I bet you cant.
Just like when you said that there are nearly 1 million children that have been raped in the UK this year already.
See... you tell one lie and then nothing else you say has any credibility behind it.
I just dont believe my eyes.would you believe the comments made on this article........Africans are their own worst enemy
they are Fish.....Black on Black and not smart enough to know where it will lead..... Sure miss the Pubs in Salisbury....
You would almost believe that this is the worst disaster that has occurred anywhere in the world over the past 12 months.
And you would be tempted to think that those who are most concerned are rushing to ship in medical supplies and relief aid as they do when disaster strikes anywhere else in the world.
You would be tempted to think that the people of Zimbabwe have received relief assistance from Kenya of the loud-talking, pompous but vacuous Odinga. NO. He would rather talk politics and "regime change".
See all comments (15).
When there are outbreaks of cholera or anthrax in Kenya, why don't we hear a whimper from this UN?
Where does the UN, USA and UK go whenever there is an outbreak of Ebola in Uganda?
And of course, this UN supports and endorses the rape and killings of innocent kids and their mothers by the thousands in Iraq.
The UN is a cruel joke foisted on the world and all people of goodwill.