cholera spreads through Zimbabwe
The cholera epidemic continues to claim more lives across Zimbabwe, and food shortages are also widespread. World Vision, in partnership with other agencies, is stepping up relief work in order to reach more people with vital medical supplies, food, and clean, safe water.

World Vision UK has two Area Development Programmes (ADPs) in Zimbabwe. Sanzukwi ADP has not been affected by cholera, but Hurungwe has seen over 250 cases, 18 of which have been fatal. Local World Vision staff are responding to this health emergency by revising their annual plans to work with members of the community on cholera prevention, ensuring basic treatment kits are available locally, arranging supplementary feeding for vulnerable children, and increasing agricultural support.  We have ensured aid reaches the most vulnerable, and have supplied non-food items such as soap, jerry cans, and ORS sachets to households in the affected areas. “We have also intensified hygiene promotion in the areas that have seen a recent increase in cases,” said Alice Mazarura, a UNICEF Project Manager with whom World Vision is working.

The number of recorded cases of cholera is now over 46,000, with World Health Organisation figures putting the current number of deaths at more than 2,000. World Vision is working with other agencies in affected areas to supply hospitals with drugs, medical supplies, staff and vehicles to combat the disease.

Food shortages are also common, with many households down to a single meal each day. The United Nations estimates that 5.5 million people – about a quarter of the total population – are in urgent need of food aid, with children particularly vulnerable. There are fears that this estimate may not be a true reflection of the number of people affected by the worsening humanitarian situation.

“we are grateful…”
Too weak to move or to say much, twelve-year-old Genius Nleya lifted her hand, and murmured, “Merry Christmas to you as well”, as she lay on her makeshift hospital bed. Genius was admitted at Beitbridge Referral Hospital’s cholera treatment centre on Christmas Eve, suffering from extreme diarrhoea and dehydration.

“When we admitted her she had diarrhoea and had lost so much water. It was when the doctors put her on a drip that her situation started to improve, and we are grateful that we had the supplies in place,” a nurse told us.

Beitbridge, which is on the border with South Africa, was one of the areas hardest hit by the cholera outbreak, with 3,556 cases recorded to date, 103 of which have been fatal. The main hospital is closed for patients due to problems including a shortage of drugs and medical supplies, water and personnel, a reflection of the general decline and decay in the Zimbabwean health sector.

Lying next to Genius is thirty-six-year-old Patience Moyo, who was admitted after suffering from severe diarrhoea whilst she was on a shopping trip to South Africa. She explains, “It came so suddenly, and I was passing diarrhoea, and the last thing l remember is l passed out. I woke up on the hospital bed, with drips connected to me. The doctor explained that l was lucky to be alive because l had lost so much water, and told me that l had cholera. I am grateful to the hospital staff for saving my life, because cholera has killed many people this year.”

aid targets increased
World Vision has been steadily expanding its operations, including food distributions, school-based feeding, a market assistance programme, food for the chronically ill, and community kitchens. World Vision is implementing a vulnerable group-feeding project in four districts under the United Nations World Food Programme, targeting around 230,000 beneficiaries with food aid.

We are also working on non-food projects including the restoration of dams and irrigation schemes, the provision and restoration of water sources, and the provision of seeds, fertiliser, and small livestock to enable people to grow food for their families. These schemes – which are run through the Area Development Programmes – are benefiting more than 1 million people per month.