Lack of water causes diarrhoea outbreaks in Harare

By Tichaona Sibanda
20 August 2007

Water shortages in Harare have led to worsening outbreaks of diarrhoea, with health centres treating around 900 cases a day, the state controlled Herald reported on Monday.

Harare city council’s Health director Prosper Chonzi said each of their 60 health centres is treating at least 15 cases of diarrhoea per day, with some of the patients suffering from life-threatening dysentery.

There are fears the number of people suffering from diarrhoea could be much higher than the figures the council has because others will be consulting private doctors or visiting other government health centres.

Chonzi said the problem is so serious they have ordered all city health centres to treat diarrhoea patients for free, to try to stop the spread of disease.

Water supplies in some suburbs of Harare have been erratic for the least two years. Residents have to make do with buying water from those lucky enough to have wells or using untreated sources of the commodity.

The Combined Harare Residents Association warned last week that broken sewerage systems, which often went unfixed for months, were a threat to the city’s deteriorating health infrastructure.

Areas that have been affected by the disease are Hatcliffe Extension, Mabvuku, Tafara, Budiriro and Kuwadzana, suburbs that sometimes go for up to three consecutive days without running water.

Water supply in the country’s cities has been mired in controversy since Mugabe’s government ordered that water management be transferred from city councils - some of them controlled by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - to the state-controlled ZINWA water authority.