by Cuthbert Nzou
HARARE - World Vision, Zimbabwe's largest humanitarian agency, on Monday received more than US$500 000 from the Canadian government to improve water supplies and sanitation at clinics and hospitals fighting the cholera epidemic in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the death toll from the water-borne disease has shown signs of slowing down but there is still need to remain vigilant and to continue to reinforce the control measures already in place.
"The figures are tapering off but what is worrying is that there are many more deaths that go unreported. Thanks to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), World Vision can take proactive steps to prevent the spread of cholera and help improve the lives of children and families in Zimbabwe," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada.
Toycen has been in Zimbabwe since Sunday to meet with government officials and international aid agencies on a fact-finding mission. He will return to Canada on Friday.
He said he was in Zimbabwe to see how World Vision can further help the country, which has been struggling under an economic crisis that includes hyper-inflation, unemployment of around 90 percent and severe shortages of basic goods and services.
The $510 000 grant from the CIDA donated yesterday would benefit more than 422 000 patients in Mudzi, Murehwa and Mutoko in Mashonaland East province of Zimbabwe.
World Vision would focus on rehabilitating water supply systems, development of new water points and the provision of water storage, in addition to supporting regular testing of water quality.
In the area of sanitation, World Vision would repair and build new latrines, construct pits for the safe disposal of medical waste and educate community members in and around the hospitals and clinics about health and hygiene, treatment of water-borne diseases and HIV and AIDS prevention.
World Vision has just completed a project funded by CIDA in Bulawayo district in southwestern Zimbabwe to also address water supply issues and sanitary concerns.
In January, it airlifted a shipment of more than US$4 million in donated cholera medications to Zimbabwe with the Canadian government's support.
World Vision is leading a coordinated response to the cholera situation by providing medical supplies, drilling boreholes and distributing non-food items such as soap, jerry cans and oral rehydration solution sachets to affected areas in Mashonaland Central, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South.
It also continues to distribute food aid to more than one million people in the country where more than five million Zimbabweans are food insecure and in urgent need of food aid.