By Michael Gwarisa
The City of Harare health department has received five Aqua Safe Water Quality Testing Kits and gadgets from the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS), to strengthen the City’s water testing capacity and Diarrhoeal disease surveillance in Harare, HealthTimes has learnt.
The donation is a brainchild of the “Integrated Strategy for Cholera Risk Elimination and Mitigation” project funded by the Finnish Red Cross and the European Union (DG ECHO). The water quality test kits and gadgets will be used to strengthen water quality surveillance in the project target areas of Harare Western and Southern districts. This gadgets were donated by the Finnish Red Cross, and will be distributed in five selected clinics in the project target areas of Glenview, Budiriro, Highfields, Glen Norah and Hopley
Finnish Red Cross Country Representative in Zimbabwe, Micaela Sodergard said the Cholera preparedness project in Harare is targeting 10 Cholera hotspots.
When the project was developed, we did a number of consultations with the City of Harare and one thing that came out in these meeting was that there is a need to strengthen the water testing capacity. To support the testing capacity of the health department, we have therefore purchased five water quality testing units and each of these units come with a tablet for collection, storage and analysis of the water,” said Sodergard.
She added that the project is looking at containing and curbing Cholera and also scaling up in case there is a Cholera outbreak. The project is focusing on the community level and building on the strength of Red Cross volunteers in the community.
The project is also also supporting a refresher training for Environmental Health Technicians (EHTs) and the training will be provided by City of Harare staff. The gadgets will most likely be operated by the EHTs to increase field level surveillance.
Dr Tafadzwa Bwerimwe from the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), who was standing in for the Harare Provincial Medical Director Dr Hove, applauded the Red Cross for the donation.
“Harare City being the capital city and most popular city of Zimbabwe has faced significant challenges in ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water for its residents. The recent outbreak of cholera has further exacerbated this situation, causing a grave threat to the public health,” said Dr Bwerimwe.
“However, I’m pleased to announce that with the Red Cross and partners they have stepped forward to offer their support in combating this crisis, with the donations playing a crucial role in assessing the safety of our water and identifying possible contamination so we can effectively prevent the spread of cholera, and safeguard the health and well-being of the residents of our communities.”
He added that the donated gadgets and equipment will capacitate local authorities and health professionals as government will empower them to identify contaminated water sources promptly, take swift action to rectify the situation and ensure that clean and safe drinking water is readily available to the people of Harare
“Moreover, the impact of these donations extend beyond this immediate crisis and addressing the source can implement long-term solutions that can prevent these recurring federal outbreaks. This proactive approach will not only save lives but also alleviate the burden on the health care system and enhance the overall well-being of the community. So I’d like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation for the unwavering commitment to the humanitarian cause.”
The main risk factors driving the Cholera outbreak are consumption of unsafe water, poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene. We have implicated certain water sources mainly underground water sources as the sources for infection for Cholera.
While the country officially recorded its first Cholera case in February 2023, the City of Harare started experiencing an outbreak in September 2023. To date, the City has reported 6,588 cases and 61 deaths at a case fatality rate of 0.93 percent as. The donation is part of the Cholera Preparedness project where a number of activities are being undertaken to enhance the Cholera response.
City of Harare Chief Environmental Health Officer, Mr John Manyara said, “…the donation that we receive today of Five Aqua Safe Water test kits and five gadgets, will go a long way in plugging the existing gaps and averting imminent mortality and modify due to water bone diseases in the City.”
“On behalf of the City of Harare and the City Health department, we would like to express our sincere gratitude and we would like to support that we have received from our partners IFCRC with funding from the Finish Red-Cross and the European Union in fighting the Cholera outbreak under the integrated strategy for Cholera risk elimination and mitigation project,” said Mr Manyara.
He also applauded the current support from Red Cross in setting up of the oral rehabilitation points, and also raising awareness in the community. The Integrated Strategy for Cholera Risk Elimination and Mitigation project has set up three Oral Rehydration Points in affected communities which include Churu farm in Glenview, Nhando in Hopley and Budiriro 5 extension. The Oral Rehydration Points are strategically located in communities for enhanced community cholera case management thereby reducing the burden at health centres.
Meanwhile, Mr Elias Hwenga, the Secretary-General for the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Said the donation underscores their commitment to proactive measures.
“In the face of adversity, the Zimbabwe Red Cross has been on the front lines, offering support, care, and expertise. These kits are aimed at enhancing the capacity of the City of Harare to do water quality monitoring and surveillance to ensure access to safe drinking water at household level, a key step in preventing the recurrence of waterborne diseases. We are grateful particularly to our partners for this project – the Finnish Red Cross and the European Commission Directorate General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) for their technical and financial support,” said Mr Hwenga
