Cholera Outbreak in Zimbabwe Worsens

By Michael Hill

Catholic Relief Services is taking action to stem the cholera epidemic sweeping across Zimbabwe. The agency continues to feed hundreds of thousands of people, providing lifesaving aid in a country that is facing unprecedented shortages of food together with the collapsed health, education and social protection systems.

Working with a $200,000 grant from the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), CRS and its local partners will increase access to safe water and sanitation and improve the handling of food to combat the cholera that has stricken more than 16,000 people across Zimbabwe and killed more than 780 since August.

With $80,000 of its private funds, CRS is taking the immediate action of procuring eight water purification systems that will be installed in missionary hospitals in each of the eight dioceses in the country. The capacity of these systems—a gallon of clean, safe water per minute—will cover needs not only of the hospitals, but also surrounding communities. Health experts expect the epidemic would continue its spread without such lifesaving actions.

As CRS begins this work, it continues to deliver food to well over a half-million needy Zimbabweans through Church partners such as missionary hospitals, through both public and Church schools, as well as directly to beneficiaries. All of this work is performed under very difficult conditions in a country ravaged by skyrocketing inflation, a sharply deteriorating infrastructure and 90 percent unemployment.

"This is a very challenging situation," says Karel Zelenka, the CRS country representative based in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. "We are working hard to overcome those challenges to help the people of Zimbabwe in their hour of need."

CRS is part of the Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security (C-SAFE) program of aid groups (CRS, World Vision and CARE International) that brings food donated by the United States into Zimbabwe through the Republic of South Africa and then delivers it to most of the country.

The CRS food reaches hundreds of thousands of children in emergency, school-based feeding programs, and a like number of adults in other feeding programs. In addition, CRS works with World Food Program in a number of districts not covered by C-SAFE, helping more than 130,000 more people to survive.

The catastrophic conditions in Zimbabwe mean that every step of the way is fraught with difficulties, from keeping trucks running to keeping staff paid and healthy, to ensuring that children still come to school to get their food—though most of their teachers are no longer there. Cholera struck at least two CRS workers, one of whom died just days after his father, also stricken by the disease. Another staffer recovered thanks to immediate treatment with antibiotics.

In addition to implementing the cholera response and the crucial food aid, CRS is continuing to provide for over 50,000 people living with HIV, orphans and vulnerable children, and supports almost 100,000 people through livelihoods assistance and other emergency responses.

CRS began its Zimbabwe country program in 1989 at the invitation of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference. The country program's headquarters are in Harare, while suboffices in the cities of Bulawayo, Mutare and Mudzi enable CRS staff to work hand in hand with community partners in these areas. CRS Zimbabwe currently has more than 330 staff members. The program reaches more than 1 million direct beneficiaries. Its annual budget for fiscal year 2009 is over $50 million, but may reach $60 million or more as the crisis unfolds and additional emergency assistance is provided. The program now reaches more than 1 million direct beneficiaries, but that number might also increase, provided CRS gets additional resources.

From its inception 20 years ago, CRS Zimbabwe's overall goal has been to strengthen the capacity of Zimbabwean communities to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS and to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. CRS Zimbabwe works through more than 20 partner organizations (almost half of which belong to the Church) to operate programs addressing HIV and AIDS, orphans and other vulnerable children, livelihoods security (including projects in agriculture and water and sanitation), food security, justice and peace, and emergency preparedness and protection.

Michael Hill is CRS' communications officer for sub-Saharan Africa. He is based at the agency's headquarters in Baltimore.