Zimbabwe Declares State Emergency as Cholera Becomes Epidemic

The government of Zimbabwe has declared the state of emergency in the capital, Harare, after the death of 20 people because of cholera and more than 2000 cases of the disease have been recorded so far in the country and therefore the administration has warned its citizens to take precautions as the disease is spreading across the country rapidly.

While visiting the areas affected by the Cholera, Health Minister of Zimbabwe, Obediah Moyo said, “We are declaring an emergency for Harare. This will enable us to contain the cholera, typhoid and whatever is going on, to get rid of the problem as quickly as possible”.

The Health Minister also said that the contaminated water because of poor waste disposal system and broken sewers is the leading cause of the disease to spread in the country. Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease, which kills thousands of people across the world every year.

Zimbabwe’s present crisis is also contracted by consuming food and water, which is contaminated with the fecal bacteria Vibrio Cholerae, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the World Health Organisation in the year 2008, more than 4000 people have been killed in one of the worst cholera outbreaks in the country.

To help Zimbabwe in fighting the epidemic, International bodies have come forward to its rescue, UNICEF is one of the organisations which is helping the government of Zimbabwe government to deploy more resources in the affected areas to fight the present outbreak of Cholera.

Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe said, “We have also alerted our regional offices and headquarters because we know this is a very serious issue, which will need quite huge investments to contain the outbreak. We are working very hard to help the government”.

Calvin Fambirai, who is the head of Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights has also called on the government, to provide better waste disposal systems, particularly in the densely populated areas of the city to stop future outbreaks of the water-borne diseases.

Fambirai said, “The conditions that necessitate the spread of cholera and typhoid in Zimbabwe have not changed since the 2008 outbreak. They have worsened because there is no political will to tackle it”.

Though the disease is very rare in the industrial nations, it occurs more frequently in many countries and parts of Africa, especially in the areas where there are inadequate water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.