Charity warns on Zimbabwe cholera

The UN has warned the total number of cases could reach 60,000

The international medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, predicts that the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe will last well into 2009.

Manuel Lopez, the head of MSF in the country, told the BBC the epidemic was still at a critical level and would not subside until the rains end in March.

Even then, he said, the lack of clean drinking water means that cholera will be endemic in Zimbabwe.

The disease has claimed 1,123 lives and infected more than 20,000 people.

Mr Lopez says so many clinics and hospitals have closed that large sections of the population have no access to medical care.

"The ministry of health has declared a national emergency," said Mr Lopez.

"So it is very clear that the situation is very, very critical in terms of health people's access to health care."

Latest UN figures include a new outbreak of hundreds of cases in Chegutu, near the capital Harare, which has been worst hit by the disease.

MSF says that when it arrived in Chegutu 10 days ago, it found the local facilities completely overwhelmed.

Patients were lying on the floor, some next to dead bodies, sanitation services were non-existent, and there was no water and no food to be found.

"The situation was absolute chaos," said Luis Maria Tello, the MSF Emergency Team Medical Coordinator.

"There were no beds and patients everywhere. People were dying of thirst because there was no water."

The disposal of the dead was one of the first priorities set by the emergency team.

"Dead people were lying everywhere," said Mr Tello.

'War words'

The easily preventable disease has spread because of the collapse of health services and water sanitation in Zimbabwe.

The UN World Health Organization has said the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic is stopped.

South Africa's Red Cross is rushing much-needed medicine to Zimbabwe

A week ago Mr Mugabe said the outbreak had been "arrested".

He claimed Western powers wanted to use an epidemic as an excuse to invade Zimbabwe and topple him.

Meanwhile, South African ruling ANC leader Jacob Zuma said in a radio interview there was no reason for sending troops to Zimbabwe.

"Why military intervention when there is no war?" he told South Africa's 702 Talk Radio.

"We should be pressurising them to see the light."

Zimbabwe claimed earlier this week that Botswana, which has joined growing international calls for Mr Mugabe to quit, was hosting military training camps for MDC rebels.

But the current chairperson of the the Southern African Development Community, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, said on Wednesday: "We never believed that."

$30 million aid for zimbabwe

South Africa said on Sunday it would only hand over $30 million in agricultural aid to Zimbabwe after a unity government is formed, denying a Zimbabwe media report it had reversed a decision to hold back the help.

While South Africa and other southern African countries are helping Zimbabwe deal with a cholera epidemic, the regional power said last month it would only provide farming aid to its neighbour after a coalition government was formed.

The move was seen by many as South Africa's first punitive measure against Zimbabwe, which is battling food shortages, and a sign of frustration at its neighbour’s failure to enforce a stalled power-sharing agreement and stem an economic crisis.

In rare comments about Zimbabwe, Mozambique's president added pressure on the parties to form a unity government, according to a Reuters report.

"Under the present conditions of Zimbabwe, there is no ideal alternative to implementing this agreement (and) both sides should set up a power sharing government without further delay," Armando Guebuza said in a speech to diplomats in Maputo.

Some analysts say South Africa and other African nations have been too soft on President Robert Mugabe and want to see more regional pressure on him to break a political impasse.

Zimbabwe's state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper quoted Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo as saying farming inputs like staple maize seed, fertiliser and fuel forming part of the 300 million rand South African package had arrived.

"The South African government has sent a consignment of agricultural inputs to Zimbabwe under its 300 million rand farming support facility," the paper said.
But a spokesman for South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said South Africa had not reversed its stance.

"We said we would be able to help with agricultural assistance worth about 300 million rand once a new government has formed, and that has not changed," said Thabo Masebe.

"In parallel, there have been efforts to assist with the humanitarian crisis so that may be what they are referring to."

Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed the power-sharing pact on September 15 but the deal has been unravelling over disagreements about the control of ministries.

Meanwhile Zimbabwe has sunk deeper into crisis. Hyper-inflation means prices double every day and a cholera epidemic has killed more than 1,100 people.
South African is leading the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) in providing urgent humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe.

Western leaders blame Mugabe for the crisis and have called on him to step down. He says economic sanctions are at fault, and has vowed "never to surrender" to what he says are efforts to topple him.