(Updated February 23, 2009)
A massive food crisis and one of the world's largest cholera outbreaks ever recorded are plunging Zimbabwe into a deepening humanitarian and public health crisis. The humanitarian response to the outbreak has been badly underfunded, and the international community is struggling to control the outbreak and provide adequate food assistance to those in greatest need.
With over 80,000 confirmed cases and 3,800 deaths, and the crisis still not under control, health experts fear that Zimbabwe’s cholera outbreak could become the worst in African history. (Source: WHO Health Action in Crises Cluster). Concern launched an emergency response in December 2008, its efforts are ongoing, and more help is urgently needed.
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Cholera patient in capital city. Photo: REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo, courtesy of www.alernet.org |
The situation is made even more grave by the fact that Zimbabwe has been in a crippling downward economic spiral over the last decade that has left
more than half of Zimbabwe’s population—7 million people—in need of food aid, according to recent estimates by the World Food Program. The United Nations also estimates that unemployment stands at 94 percent, and the last measured inflation rate was 231 million percent.
“The situation is critical,” says Mark Harper, Concern’s Assistant Country Director in Zimbabwe, “as it is, the United Nations sources the food, and their stocks will run out soon. This is already leading to some tension on the ground. At Concern distributions there have been a number of incidents, which is in line with increasing lawlessness and desperation for food.”
Concern Worldwide’s CEO, Tom Arnold, recently traveled to Zimbabwe to gauge the crisis and Concern's response.
THE POOREST AT HIGHEST RISK
Lack of access to clean drinking water is putting households at risk of contracting cholera. The shortage of water and soap for handwashing has also contributed to the spread of the disease. In urban areas, the poorest face regular water cuts--and when the water is turned back on, it may not be safe to drink. Regular power cuts and lack of alternative fuel prevent people from being able to boil contaminated water. Many households have dug unprotected wells to cope with the water cuts, unaware that the groundwater itself is contaminated from raw sewage. Runoff from heavy seasonal rains is also contaminating wells.
In rural areas, bushpumps are in disrepair and the wells are untended and unprotected, leaving people with little choice but to use unsafe sources of water.
Many Zimbabweans cannot afford basic hygiene items such as jerrycans, soap, buckets and aquatabs to purify and store their water safely, thus making the poorest most vulnerable to cholera.
CONCERN'S RESPONSE
Concern has launched a response to the cholera crisis in four districts (Chegutu, Gokwe South, Gokwe North and Nyanga), and is now targeting 210,000 people. Our immediate priority has been to limit the spread of the outbreak and prevent further infections by mobilizing teams of village health workers to distribute health information and cholera kits, including jerry cans for safe storage of clean water, soap, and chlorine tablets. The hygiene promotion teams are also working to ensure early recognition and referral of potential cholera cases for treatment at clinics.
Concern is also working in partnership with communities to establish maintenance committees and repair and rehabilitate damaged water infrastructure such as pipes, wells and pumps.
In the district of Chegutu, Concern is coordinating the emergency water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) response at the request of WASH cluster lead UNICEF.
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Small boy waiting for food aid in rural Zimbabwe. Photo:REUTERS/ Philimon Bulawayo, courtesy of www.alertnet.org |
COMBATING THE FOOD CRISIS
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that Zimbabwe only has 17 percent of the maize seed needed for this season and only 2.6 percent of its fertilizer. Recent wheat harvests were only 10 percent of the country’s requirements leading to a huge food deficit this year.
Concern started food distributions late last year. A full monthly per-person ration was given to 250,000 people, comprising 12.5 kg of maize and 600g of oil and beans or peas. Hwwever, this ration has had to be greatly reduced due to increased numbers of people in need and reduced food availability. The already vulnerable and impoverished people of Zimbabwe cannot withstand both a cholera crisis and a food crisis.
Concern is working with communities, local and national authorities, the United Nations, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe receive humanitarian assistance.
“The political situation in the country is stealing the international headlines,” says Mark Harper, Assistant Country Director for Concern in Zimbabwe, “but this media focus is also masking the very real humanitarian crisis situation – and one which is likely to worsen considerably in the coming months.”