By Michael Gwarisa in Buhera In Mubvirwi Village, Buhera under Chief Nyashanu, tales of how one family lost five members within a space of five days will forever be told decades from now. Even though this tragic incident occurred five months ago, when the Cholera outbreak was at its peak in Buhera District, one can easily sense the sadness and sombre atmosphere that has engulfed the once vibrant and happy village of Mubvirwi. The new graves that have sprouted across Villages in Buhera over the past few months are a…
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Zimbabwe Marks One Year Since Recording First Cholera Case
By Michael Gwarisa Today, February 12, 2024, marks exactly 12 months since the first Cholera outbreak was reported in Zimbabwe in Chegutu, Mashonaland West. The Cholera anniversary comes in the wake of the outbreak having been reported in 61 districts in all the country’s 10 provinces. Deputy Cholera Incident Manager in the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), Dr Stephen Karim said the country was beginning to witness a positive trajectory in the cholera outbreak. You might remember that we reported the first case of Cholera was on the…
Read MoreProviding Point of Care Response To Cholera Patients In Harare’s Biggest Informal Settlement
By Michael Gwarisa In Zimbabwe every year, December 22, marks Unity Day, an occasion to commemorate the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987, when Zimbabwe’s two rival political parties signed an agreement to end a protracted period of conflict. 36 years later, on December 22, 2023, everyone woke with anticipation to celebrate this important day on the national Calendar. For most Zimbabweans, it was a normal but cloudy Unity Day Holiday, with a high likelihood of precipitation later in the day. However, for Tanaka Nyamukoko (23) from Hopley, a…
Read MoreMajor Boost For Harare Cholera Fight As Red Cross Donates Aqua Safe Water Quality Testing Kits and Gadgets
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…
Read MoreWhen Religion Meets Cholera: Information Gaps Threaten Cholera Response In Marange
By Michael Gwarisa recently in Marange It’s 12:00 midnight, and two men knock at Cecilia Garira’s door. Cecilia is a famous Village Health Worker from the Johane Marange sect in Marange, Mfararikwa Village, who has volunteered to assist Cholera patients from her sect. The two men bear bad tidings. One of their members is critical and in need of help as he is exhibiting severe Cholera symptoms including dehydration. Cecilia doesn’t waste time. She packs her bag and joins the two men. Earlier in the day, the man in question…
Read MoreHarare water crisis technical committee given another 100 days
By Kudakwashe Pembere As Harare’s water challenges appear to be a thorn in the flesh for both the local authority and central government, a technical committee appointed to come up with solutions to mitigate this crisis has been afforded another 100 days to round up their task. This on Wednesday was said by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka during a progress report presentation of the committee’s first 100 days. He said Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa in October last year tasked a committee…
Read More#Breaking: Zimbabwe Targets Two Million With Oral Cholera Vaccines
By Michael Gwarisa In a bid to provide temporal protection against Cholera infection and severe cholera symptoms, Zimbabwe will soon be rolling out a targeted Oral Cholera vaccination program in the 57 affected districts, HealthTimes has learnt. Zimbabwe is among the 18 countries battling Cholera in the world and according to the Africa Centre for Diseases Control (Africa CDC), the widespread Cholera crisis on the continent has pushed demand for Oral Cholera Vaccines (OVC) to unprecedented levels. However, Zimbabwe has since made headway in terms of procuring vaccines and mapping…
Read MoreCentral Government Briefly Takes Over Solid Waste Management In Harare As Cholera Rears Ugly Head
By Michael Gwarisa Riding on the existing Emergency Solid Waste Management Program, guided by Statutory Instrument 140 of 2023, following the declaration of a state of disaster in Harare Metropolitan province, the Zimbabwean government is implementing a raft of measures through Operation Chenesa Harare (Clean Harare), an ambitious waste management program targeting to clear all solid waste within a week. The collected waste will be taken to Pomona Dump Site in Harare in a move the government believes will address the drivers of Cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases in Harare.…
Read MoreIdle Buildings Converted Into Life-Saving Oral Rehydration Points For Cholera Patients In Manicaland
By Michael Gwarisa in Manicaland Almost 15 kilometers from Zvipiripiri Rural Clinic, Sekuru Ramson Nyatsanza* (79) from Nyangani Village Ward 16 in Mutare rural, is experiencing severe Cholera symptoms. He is vomiting profusely and the rice water-like diarrhoea is not stopping. Despite being a member of an Apostolic Sect that is known for prohibitin followers from seeking healthcare services, Sekuru Nyatsanza is determined to get help. His relatives carry him to an Oral Rehydration Point (ORP) that the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) through technical and financial support…
Read MorePresident Mnangagwa Should Declare Cholera a National Disaster
PUBLIC Health expert and Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) Executive Director, Mr Itai Rusike has called on President Emerson Mnganagwa to act swiftly and declare the prevailing Cholera outbreak a National Disaster before the health situation gets out of hand. By Michael Gwarisa His call comes in the midst of numerous Cholera cases that have been recorded and confirmed mostly in rural areas across the country with Buhera District in Manicaland province being the hardest hit. In an interview with HealthTimes, Mr Rusike said the situation on the ground…
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