The Sunday Mail
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke in Buhera
Government will this week commission the drilling of boreholes in parts of Buhera district to improve access to clean water for communities affected by a fresh outbreak of cholera over the past few weeks.
Manicaland province has to date recorded more than 2000 cases of cholera, with 83 deaths reported since March this year.
On Friday, 40 new cases were recorded in the province, of which 32 were from Buhera district.
Betera Clinic, which is receiving patients from some of the most affected communities reported 16 out of the 32 cases.
Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora yesterday led a delegation that included officials from the ministry, World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Médecins Sans Frontières, Mercy Corps, Red Cross and World Vision on a tour of health facilities caring for cholera patients in Buhera.
They visited Murambinda District Hospital, Mudanda Clinic and Betera Clinic.
“What stands out from all the sites we have visited is that many of the people who have been affected by cholera have no clean drinking water and some of them are getting water from unprotected wells and from rivers.
“As a ministry, we have boreholes which we are drilling in clinics, so this week, we had pulled out one of the rigs to come to this area to drill boreholes and we expect eight boreholes to be drilled. These are installed with a pump, solar system and tanks so that people can immediately access clean water,” Minister Mombeshora said.
He said more rigs would be recalled from other areas to Buhera district, where the need was urgent.
While access to clean water has been identified as the biggest challenge to the current outbreak, poor sanitation and poor health- seeking behaviours have also contributed to the increase in cases and deaths in the district.
The minister added that Government would also engage religious leaders to encourage their congregants to seek medical care.
“We understand there was a religious gathering here recently and that is where the first case from these communities originated from.
‘‘The same people from the religious sect do not believe in getting medical assistance, hence they are now getting sick.
“We need to engage with these sects so that we can encourage them to get medical care,” he said.
Manicaland Minister for Provincial and Devolution Affairs Misheck Mugadza said collaboration in the response to the outbreak would help in managing cholera cases.
Unicef country director Dr Tajudeen Oyewale commended efforts put in place by Government to curb the outbreak.
“We know that cholera is endemic not only in Zimbabwe but in the region so what is important is how much we are prepared. We are actually heading towards the rainy season and we have to really be ahead of the curve,” he said.
“The first strength on our part is the coordination. We want to reassure the Government that we will continue to be party to that coordination. That is important because then we can plan all efforts and also preposition our efforts,” he said.
