GOVERNMENT is seeking collaboration with the Harare City Council to come up with strategies to deal with the current cholera outbreak which has seen a surge in new cases in the city’s western suburbs.
On Monday, 90 out of the 145 new suspected cholera cases reported in the country were in Harare, according to the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s daily situation report.
At least 80 percent of these cases were reported in Kuwadzana suburb which has become a hotspot in the past two weeks.
Yesterday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora, who was accompanied by several directors in his ministry and officials from the local authority, toured Kuwadzana where he visited areas that have been affected by constant sewer bursts and the city’s waste treatment plant in Crowborough.
“We are here because of the increase in the number of cases coming up in Harare. We know the epicentre was Buhera but cases there have now come down but yesterday we had 90 new cases in Harare. About 80 percent of those new cases came from Kuwadzana. We want to work together with City of Harare so that we can map a way forward together,” said Minister Mombeshora.
Chief among the drivers of the outbreak in the city is the non-availability of clean water and the constant breakdown of the sewer system.
This has resulted in sewer blockages and residents have to endure flowing sewage within their homes and yards.
Dr Mombeshora said the long term solution to the current situation which was fuelling the cholera incidences needed resources to be allocated towards fixing the water and sewer reticulation infrastructure.
He said the US$14 million availed by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion towards combating cholera would go a long way in alleviating the situation.“We have heard that there are a number of things responsible for this outbreak and the first is that there is not enough safe drinking water due to low capacity at Morton Jaffray pumping station, which has been affected by load shedding. Also the boreholes are contaminated and water and sewer conveyancing pipes are old and leaking and these are worrying conditions,” he said.
“Our long-term plans are to address hygiene and sanitation which includes water reticulation for the residents and sewer disposal in a proper way. The next step is to ensure availability of safe water so that includes trucking water to the people, treating all water sources and also educating our communities on good hygienic practices.”
The minister encouraged the city fathers to respond timeously to burst sewer reports to ensure the pipes are repaired on time.
In the short term, he said, advocating for the closing of illegal food vending stalls and vegetable gardens where sewer water is used for irrigation was needed.
Harare City health director Dr Prosper Chonzi said almost all suburbs in the city had reported cases of cholera.
Kuwadzana alone has reported 50 confirmed cases hence the visit by the minister would help in coming up with strategies that are multi-sectoral.
“The patients that are presenting to our treatment centres are very sick which means they delayed seeking treatment and this has resulted in over eight deaths that have occurred in the last few days in Kuwadzana alone. We continue to manage all cholera patients for free in our clinics and we are distributing aqua tabs and water guard so that people treat their water before they drink it.
“This tour is an engagement between health and the community so if the community do not play their part we will not be able to get on top of the situation,” Dr Chonzi said.
He said residents should treat all water sources in the city as contaminated and treat it before consuming. Dr Chonzi also encouraged good hygienic practices.
“People should eat food while it is hot and avoid buying food from undesignated places. We discourage people from eating food that is prepared in such places. Children succumb to cholera much faster than adults so the longer you delay bringing that child to a health facility, the worse the prognosis becomes. We do not want to lose lives unnecessarily.”
Residents who spoke to The Herald lamented the rate at which council was responding to burst sewer pipes which could be responsible for the current outbreak.
Ms Situation Ngove said she had sewage flowing through her house for more than a month.
“Sewege was flowing in the house for almost a month and two weeks but we had to endure that because we had nowhere to go. We reported and council only responded yesterday. We have been breathing this foul air for too long,” she said.
Another resident Ms Adelaide Sibanda said the flowing sewerage was a danger to their children.
“We are tired of these sewerage bursts all year round here in Kuwadzana four. Bathrooms and toilets are always blocked with sewage flowing through them.
“Our children cannot even play outside and they are always suffering from diarrhoeal diseases. Where will the children play if these sewerage bursts continue? We cannot shut them in the house everyday,” she said.
Harare Mayor Mr Ian Makone said the long term solution was to fix the infrastructure.
“We need to address the root causes and it’s about infrastructure. Working with central Government, I hope that we are able to mobilise the necessary resources for the sewerage reticulation system, water treatment plants and water distribution system down to the last mile. If we collaborate we can achieve that,” he said.
Mr Makone also requested for Treasury to allow the city to borrow money from the financial sector.
“We need the Ministry of Finance to grant us borrowing rights. If I had that I would buy compactors, tipper trucks, repair burst water and the worst of the burst sewer pipes,” he said.
Herald
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