Zimbabwe: state of emergency declared in Harare in the face of a cholera epidemic

Harare authorities, the capital of Zimbabwe, said the state of emergency in the face of the spread of the cholera epidemic which affected more than 7,000 people with several deaths.

Zimbabwe faces a health crisis linked to the outbreak of cholera in the country. According to Ian Makone, mayor of Harare, the situation is extremely serious. According to him, the current propagation of cholera recalls the devastating crisis of 2008 which had cost the lives of more than 4,000 people and affected more than 100,000 others.

The epicenter of this epidemic is mainly in the densely populated suburbs of Kuwadzana, concentrating almost half of the reported cases, according to the authorities who declared the state of emergency to Harare to mobilize resources in order to contain the spread of cholera and provide drinking water, a crucial resource to stop the disease. The situation is all the more critical since the epidemic has extended to all the ten provinces of the country. This propagation is attributed to the cruel lack of access to drinking water in the region.

The current health crisis is the direct result of the collapse of Zimbabwe hydraulic infrastructure. This degradation forced the majority of the population to turn to unsecured sources of water, such as unprotected wells and boreholes, to obtain drinking water, thus exacerbating the spread of cholera.

The Harare municipal council called for national and international assistance to contain this growing epidemic, but also to rebuild and strengthen the country’s hydraulic infrastructure. The current situation highlights the urgency of immediate intervention to guarantee lasting access to drinking water throughout Zimbabwe.