ious outbreak of cholera, dysentery and scabies if the current water crisis was not resolved immediately.
“When people drink dirty water from sewage-drenched streams, when toilets don’t flush and when people don’t bath regularly, it’s a recipe for disease outbreak,” said Rusike.
The CWGH is a coalition of 35 non-governmental organisations that deal with health matters in Zimbabwe. The group works with communities in the promotion of basic health care around the country.
Residents in the poor eastern suburbs of Mabvuku and Tafara, for example, say they have gone for months on end without running water resulting in most of them fetching water from unprotected wells.
Earlier this year, five people died of cholera in Budiriro suburb in Harare.
Cholera is a water-borne disease that thrives in unhygienic conditions.
Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa’s deputy, Edwin Muguti, conceded that Harare was facing a health time bomb but added that water provision was the sole responsibility of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and the Harare city council. – ZimOnline
19.10.2006
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Water crisis threatens health
HARARE - A local group which works with communities to promote basic health care on Friday warned that Harare was facing a serious outbreak of water borne diseases due to a water crisis.
The executive director of the Community Working Group on Health, Itai Rusike, warned that the city faced a ser
The executive director of the Community Working Group on Health, Itai Rusike, warned that the city faced a ser