Harare in Zimbabwe is facing a Cholera outbreak which has been the worst in over 10 years. Cholera has killed at least 28 people in Harare and the disease is attacking the most weak and vulnerable people in the city such as malnourished children or those who are living with HIV due to having a low immune system. Out of the cases that have been reported it shows that majority of people who have caught the disease are aged between 5 and 35 years old, but it is effecting both men and woman equally, so nobody is safe from cholera.

Children and adults are being left fighting for their lives and many are being treated in tents by health workers. Others are being attached to drips to treat dehydration. The disease is dangerous if the infection is left untreated, so it is important to seek help as people are dying from dehydration which is the effects of vomiting and diarrhoea.

The cause of Cholera in the city is due to poor sanitation, and contaminated water supply. This is an issue for the people in the community and those people who live in countries that are suffering from poverty,  who do not have access to sanitary water to be able to wash food and drink water safely, making them more at risk of getting cholera and other waterborne diseases .

Cholera can be treated easily through oral hydration solutions, whereas patients who are highly dehydrated are at risk of shock and will require more treatment. It is vital that access to treatment is sort after as soon as a cholera outbreak strikes. There are oral rehydration treatment available in communities for people to get hold of, this will ensure the outbreak reaches minimal numbers of people in the city.

There are ways in which the disease can be controlled and that is through oral cholera vaccinations, treatments and better water and sanitation to reduce outbreaks of cholera in the community, which is key to saving the lives of many. But the main issue to tackle cholera is down to economic development. If the government put money in to  reconstructing infrastructure, and pipe work so all have access to safer drinking water and improved sanitation will limit cholera in Harare. By providing homes with water filtration and safe water storage will eliminate bacteria build up in water bottles and help keep communities cholera free.

This can be very costly and hard to sustain in countries that are less developed which makes it harder for cholera to be hard to remove in communities.

The figures from people dying with cholera is increasing and according to researches cholera is killing up to an estimated 143,000 people around the word each year, which is very serious to communities.

The World Health Organisation state that between August 2008 and July 2009, 4,200 people died from cholera and 98,000 people become infected with the disease. This shows that there is a need to fix blocked sewers that have been left unattended that are contaminating the only water supply that many people in communities have access to. Many of these burst pipes are where children have to walk to go to schools and play, with the smell often outside people’s homes.

Obadiah Moyo is the Health Minister in Zimbabwe and he suggests the council is to blame for the cholera outbreak as he reports that the blocked sewage pipes in the city were reported months before, but the problem was never resolved. This issue has driven the people of Harare to dig their own shallow wells which has caused them to catch the disease.

The community are pulling together to try to repair the damage in Harare and businesses and churches have joined forces to try and help the situation. They have helped by paying for water deliveries buckets and water treatment tablets. It Is vital that the water facilities in Harare are repaired as soon as possible to avoid more people getting ill from the disease leaving limited people in the community well enough to work and provide for their families.

To help tackle the issue in Harare WHO (World Health Organisation) have started an oral cholera mass vaccination campaign. This campaign aims to issue people who have been effected with cholera the medication to help them overcome the disease as well as educate the public about the issue and how to avoid the spread of disease   through community engagements .

UNICEF and Oxfam are other charities that are helping to support Harare by providing the community with soap, buckets and other non-food items, which will help with better hygiene.

Mind map

Issues that can arise from cholera

• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Death
• Dehydration
• Spread of the disease through contaminated water
• Thirst
• Muscle cramp
• Low blood pressure