13 January 2009
The death toll in Zimbabwe's worst ever cholera outbreak has now topped 2,000, with more than 100 deaths - and nearly 1,500 new cases - added just today, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported.
In all, there have been close to 40,000 cholera cases reported in Zimbabwe so far, according to WHO, which adds that virtually no part of the country has been spared in the epidemic, made worse by a near collapse of the health system and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
The disease, which is caused by contaminated food or water, has affected all ten of Zimbabwe's provinces, and nearly 90 per cent of the country's 62 local districts. Half the cases are in the capital, Harare, and only a handful of professionals are staffing clinics where several dozen are needed.
WHO and sister agencies, such the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), have been scaling up their efforts to respond to the outbreak, including through the delivery of vital medical supplies.
Boniface Nzara, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist with UNICEF Zimbabwe, painted a grim picture of what he found during a recent visit to a rural clinic in Chinrundu, a small community in the country's northwest region. The clinic, which only has the capacity to treat eight patients, was overwhelmed on the day of his visit, with 185 cases and 16 deaths.
"When we arrived at the clinic we were met by a frightening sight. People with cholera were just lying outside the clinic with very little assistance," said Mr. Nzara. "The hygiene situation inside was literally a cholera breeding ground."
UNICEF was able to assist the clinic by providing a "cholera kit," which includes two treatment tents large enough to house 50 patients, beds and pit latrine equipment, as well as IV fluids and oral rehydration salts.
The agency also supplied a 5,000-litre water tank and 500,000 water-purification tablets to secure safe drinking water in the short term.
The cholera epidemic is just the latest crisis to hit Zimbabwe, which has been faced with a worsening humanitarian situation owing to years of failed harvests, bad governance and hyperinflation, as well as months of political tensions after disputed presidential elections in March involving the incumbent Robert Mugabe and the opposition figure Morgan Tsvangirai.
Although a power-sharing deal on the formation of a new government was reached in September with the help of regional leaders, outstanding issues remain, jeopardizing the deal's implementation.
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It is unfortunate that one side of the equation has been clearly well articulated and indeed the health system has collapsed. The observers also need to take an unbiassed review of the sanctions that are supposed to be targetted, but in the process the generality of the population is caught in the crossfire as well, they should review these and recommend to the the instigators whether they are working or not and if not, the likes of Gerorge Bush and Gordon Brown together with RG should meet at the ICC charged for crimes against humanity as well. The… [Read Full Text]
So which sanctions are you referring too... the ban on travel? OR the ban on arms?
The usual and boring same old stupid attack on people trying to liberate themselves.we also have our association called Liberation For Human Rights,so dont make unnecessary noises on these trumped up human rights violations. You are Boston and what your G Bush doing in foreign territories,what are your troops doing doing in the Gulf Region, is that not suppresisng Arab rights to do what they want with their resources. You think, just because you are American or British, whatever you say about an African issue should prevail, what stupid thinking!.Why dont you talk about the sanctions you placed on Zim… [Read Full Text]
how about the money that was siphoned away from funds for chemical treatment of water to build one mayors mansion? Nothing to do with the west that one. And what does Brown have to do with American policy? Nothing!
Icho, Zimbabwe is not a poor country by any stretch of the imagination. It is your thinking that is poor or should I say your lack of your own thinking because Mugabe tells you when to sit and when to stand. By a doctor stating that cholera is man-made, means that man can control it very easily. There is bacteria everywhere, but when certain kinds enter our bodies, our immune system cannot cope to defeat those organisms without medical intervention, and that is why so many people are dying. All this national grief just because… [Read Full Text]
Active Discussions: Over 2,000 Lives Now Lost to Worst Ever Cholera Outbreak, UN Reports