Zimbabwe plans to spend $64 million to fight against a cholera outbreak that has so far killed at least 30 people in the capital Harare, a Cabinet minister has said.
Part of the money will also be used to fight typhoid which has also hit the city and other parts of the country, chairperson of the Cabinet committee on emergency preparedness and disaster management July Moyo told state run newspaper Herald.
The government is also counting on private citizens to contribute. Cash donations should be made to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, whose minister Mthuli Ncube last week announced the establishment of a crowd funding initiative to help fight the outbreak. Donations such as fuel, protective clothing, cleaning equipment refuse receptacles, food and water purification chemicals being channeled through the Harare Town Clerk’s office.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa also called on the corporate world to donate toward fighting the epidemic.
“We are raising money, which has been coming in daily, so that we fix the burst pipes at Morton Jeffery Waterworks and the Central Business District, as well as the suburbs”, said Mr. Mnangagwa. “We have been told that most of these pipes are old and are bursting at any given time, so we have found some well-wishers who are helping us. We will continue to support the Harare City Council in its programs meant to sanitize Harare, because the council does not have enough powers to be doing all the work alone.”
The worst cholera outbreak to hit the country took place from Aug. 2008 to June 2009 when 98,596 cases of cholera were reported, resulting in 4,369 deaths.
