Zimbabwe: Christian Aid partners respond to cholera outbreak

(December 6, 2008) Christian Aid partner organisations in Zimbabwe are responding to the cholera outbreak which is now affecting the entire country. According to the World Health organisation more than 12,000 cases have been reported and 565 people have died. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, the Dabane Trust, a Christian Aid partner which specialises in drought recovery programmes, is providing an emergency response in both the city and in the outlying rural areas. "The sewage system has just completely broken down," says Stephen Hussey, the programme coordinator for Dabane Trust. 'There are pools of sewage in town. In addition to the clear danger of cholera and other water-borne disease, it just smells foul; it is disgusting.' Dabane donated 2,000 litres of fuel to the city council of Bulawayo so its sanitation teams could go out to the suburbs. It has also cleaned four large water containers which are on standby for distribution of clean water and provided 18,000 water purifying tablets. Dabane also has a pilot scheme to build sand water filters for some 30 homes in the rural areas. It is training local builders to make these filters which operate through the medium of sand. "The problems of the sanitation services here are huge; there are no chemicals to treat the water at source' says Mr Hussey.’ "We are working with service providers to facilitate the provision of water. More importantly, we are organising meetings with our community leaders and the city council so that it knows exactly what the situation is.” Partner organisations in the capital Harare are also responding. Christian Care is working with the Unicef initiative to distribute purification tablets.