“We thank CWHG and the City Health department for installing these inline chlorinates, we are now assured that we wont have abuse of tablets as they are enclosed in the Chlorinators…..”
By Michael Gwarisa
RESIDENTS in Hatcliff area in Harare are using Chlorine tablets meant for purifying water as washing soap despite the area having been declared a hot Typhoid zone due to the Typhoid outbreak which swept across the area early this year, HealthTimes can reveal.
These revelations were made by Hatcliff Councilor Naboth Manyengera during a Clean-up campaign that was organised by the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) where they were also unveiling Inline Chlorinators that were installed on 13 boreholes in the area.
“This place recently experienced a Typhoid outbroeak and we thank the city health department and other partners for distributing water purification tablets to residents. However, it was now worrisome as most people were now using them to wash clothes.
“You hear women say, these tables have strong fabric whitening properties and all sorts of reasons. These tablets are not for washing they are for purifying water so that you are safe from bacterial and diarrhoeal infections. We thank CWHG and the City Health department for installing these inline chlorinates, we are now assured that we wont have abuse of tablets as they are enclosed in the Chlorinators,” said Manyengera.
Hatcliff and Epworth recently experienced Typhoid outbreaks with residents blaming the massive water challenges in the areas for the outbreaks. Despite Hatcliff having several boreholes, water experts believe most boreholes in Harare are contaminated hence the need for Inline Chlorinators.
An official with the City Health Department who requested anonymity said most samples that were gathered from boreholes in Hatcliff showed serious signs of contamination and residents were at risk of falling sick.
“Following the Typhoid outbreak that we experienced in Hatcliff, a number of partners came up to assist in reducing the risk of the problem. A number of interventions were put forward. Initially some non food items were distributed for example Waterguard, Soap for hand-washing as a way of trying to cut the cycle of Typhoid.
“We then agreed following our observations that we discontinue distribution of non-food items. We realised after the post distribution followups we did that people were not using the Chlorine tablets and other items to purify water and the water was contaminated. So we decided to put the Chlorinators on the boreholes and we identified 13 of the boreholes where we put these inline chlorinates,” said the official.
The Chlorinators were installed at a cost of plus or minus $7000 and will see residents in and around the Hatcliff area access safe drinking water. The work is a partnership between CWGH and the City Health department.
