Following a new cholera outbreak, ACF scales up emergency response in water, sanitation and hygiene.
On Tuesday 18 November, state owned media announced that a new cholera outbreak occurred in the south of the country, in the city of Beitbridge, claiming 300 lives to date. More than a 6000 cases have been confirmed by medical organisations working on site.
This outbreak is the fifth since August this year, bringing the total figure of infected people to above 8382, of which at least 328 have died. These epidemics proliferated due to the collapse of water and sanitation infrastructures in urban areas, leading to contamination of available water by sewage. At the same time, public heath services have also broken down, leaving queues of infected people without medical assistance.
Since November 1st, ACF, with the support of ECHO, has been responding to these outbreaks, in partnership with other NGOs. This operation provides access to safe water, emergency sanitation and promotes health and hygiene education. ACF has been intervening in high density suburbs of the capital Harareand since Monday in Beitbridge, bringing support to more than 30.000 affected people.
In cooperation with other humanitarian partners, ACF teams continue to monitor vulnerable areas in order to respond in a timely and coordinated manner. The arrival of the rainy season is another threat to containing cholera outbreaks.
ACF has been working in Zimbabwe since 2002. The NGO is working on water and sanitation programs and food security programs.